After tearing up the Jamaican charts, Richie Spice, one of the most in-demand singers of the moment, finally releases his new album "Spice in your life". A much-awaited release for nu-roots fans.
Richie Spice is first of all a lieutenant. A lieutenant of the Fifth Element Crew. Alongside Chuck Fender and Anthony Cruz, the three men have set themselves a mission: to bring conscious reggae back to the forefront. After Chuck Fenda's very successful "Better days", it is now Mr Spice's turn to invade the record shops. And with this album, the spiciest singer of the moment has not done things by halves. He has simply put his songs on the riddims that have been the biggest hits lately: the Nine One One on the song of the same name, the I swear on the excellent Marijuana, the River Nile on Fake smile (with Chuck Fenda), the Blaze Riddim on Folly Living (better known as Blood Again) and the One to One riddim, dear to Bobby Digital, on the song Crying out for love. Other tracks such as the mystical Sometimes (Spice in your life) or the lover's Check Yourself accompany his hits. There is also a song with a hip hop tempo in combination with Spanner Banner (his brother) and Snatcher Dogg. We also enjoy hearing again his song Earth a run red, released on his first album, 6 years earlier.
More than a hope, a confirmation.
Richie confirms all the good things we thought of him, that is, a good sense of melody and a half-deejay, half-singer style that is increasingly mastered. He sounds more self-assured, more mature in his voice, riding with formidable ease every new-roots riddim offered to him. Lyrically, the man uses classic and well-known Rasta themes: herb, love and violence. He even gives us his own definition of reggae on the track Reggae's a fire: this music is made to unite people. A total success with just one downside: we would have liked more new tracks. Some lesser-known ones would not have displeased us. Also worth noting is the absence of the terrific Ghetto girl on the Hard Times riddim.
Richie Spice fully deserves his status as a reggae star. We hope that, with the Fifth Element Crew, he will succeed in bringing the conscious spirit back to reggae, something that is sometimes cruelly lacking in certain artists. A solid album that fully deserves its place in your collection.
