April 10, 2006 @ 10:00 am

Richie Spice

by: Rob Kenner

After a long day tending his father’s cows in the fields, little Richel Bonner used to lay awake at night listening to his parents’ zinc roof vibrating along with the bass lines blasting forth from reggae sound systems down the road. While his older brothers, Pliers and Spanna Banna, made their names in the dancehall business, Richie went to work in construction. But his family always knew he had talent. “I always wanted to show him a way out,” remembers Spanna, who carried his little brother along to studios around Kingston until he got the chance to shine. But tonight it’s Richie who brings Spanna along as a supporting act for his big stage show at Cinema 2 in Kingston. Since linking with Fifth Element Records out of Kingston, Jamaica, Richie Spice has become the top roots singer in Jamaica. Anthems like “Earth a Run Red,” “Blood Again,” and “Marijuana” have kept him in demand around the world and helped usher in a roots renaissance throughout the ragga diaspora. But the jump-off came in 2005 with the release of Richie’s massive single “Youths Are So Cold.” Produced by Brooklyn’s own Bobby Konder, the hard-hitting tune burst out beyond the usual reggae mix shows into heavy rotation all over urban radio. “In the streets it’s getting hot,” Richie sang, “and the youths dem a get so cold.” Certain major labels began getting hot, too, hoping to sign the artist’s new album, In da Streets to Africa, but Fifth Element is holding out for a better offer, knowing that they can always go independent. Either way suits Richie. “The hype no really make sense,” he says. “Fifth Element can take it pon a wider scale, we can just get the music out there and save a lot of people.” More importantly, Spice doesn’t want to lose touch with those he’s sworn to protect. “We speak for the people in the streets,” he says. “’Cause it’s poor people who feel the pain every time. And that’s why you mostly find the youths on the street begging and turning to gun.” But he’s quick to point out that not everyone has gone astray. “There’s a whole barrage of righteous youthman out there,” he sings as hundreds of hands rise in solidarity. And much like Mr. Spice himself, they’re not giving up. No way.

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