Spice 1
Spice 1 biography and full discography: Hayward’s East Bay gangsta, Ant Banks beats, 187 He Wrote, AmeriKKKa’s Nightmare and collaborations with 2Pac, E-40 and MC Eiht.
East Bay gangsta
Robert Green Jr. was born in Bryan, Texas, and grew up in Hayward, in the East Bay, where he went to Mt. Eden High School. He took the name Spice 1, said to stand for sex, pistols, indo, cash and entertainment, and came up in Too $hort's orbit as part of the Dangerous Crew.
Ant Banks and Jive
His debut, the Let It Be Known EP (1991), was produced entirely by Ant Banks, who remained his main producer. Jive released his self-titled debut album in 1992, with “Welcome to the Ghetto,” “187 Proof” and “East Bay Gangsta.” It went gold.
187 He Wrote (1993) reached No. 1 on the R&B albums chart and No. 10 on the Billboard 200, with MC Eiht, Bo$$ and E-40 as guests. AmeriKKKa's Nightmare (1994) went gold too, with 2Pac appearing on the record and in the video for “Strap on the Side.” 1990-Sick (1995) and The Black Bossalini (1997) kept him in the top 30.
Independent run
After six albums on Jive he went independent, eventually running his own Thug World label. He made albums with MC Eiht, formed The Criminalz with Celly Cel, and joined C-Bo and Yukmouth in Thug Lordz. He survived being shot outside his parents' Hayward home in 2007, and kept recording, releasing Platinum O.G. 2 in 2024.
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