James Bromley Spicer (May 12, 1958 – September 27, 2019) was an American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

recording artist A musician is someone who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate a person who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters, ...

who released a number of old school rap singles during the late 1970s and early 1980s including the classic "Dollar Bill Y'all," for which he was perhaps best known.Kellman, Andy
Jimmy Spicer Biography
,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, retrieved 2011-08-08 Spicer was managed by

Russell Simmons Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. He has p ...

' Rush Management. His single "The Bubble Bunch" featured Jellybean Benitez's first

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

. An obituary of Spicer in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described his 15-minute-long debut single, "Adventures of Super Rhyme," as being "widely regarded as the first true storytelling rap." Spicer's music was sampled by hip-hop artists including the

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

De La Soul De La Soul ( ) is an American hip hop music, hip hop group formed in the village of Amityville on Long Island, New York (state), New York in 1988. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, eccentric lyrics, and contributions to the evoluti ...

, and

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

. Rapper

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

has cited Spicer's music as sparking his interest in hip-hop. Spicer had four daughters, Angelina, Leticia, Janel, and Princess and one son, James. In 2018, he was diagnosed with advanced

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

and

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

. He died on September 27, 2019, at the age of 61.

Discography

*"Adventures of Super Rhyme (Rap)" (1980), Dazz Records - 12-inch single *"The Bubble Bunch" (1982), Mercury (US) - 12-inch single *"Money (Dollar Bill Y'all)" (1983), Spring Records - 12-inch single *"This Is It" / "Beat The Clock" (1985), Def Jam Recordings - 12-inch single *"I Rock Boots" (1990), Def Valley Records - 12-inch single *"$ Can't Buy U Luv (Money Can't Buy You Love)" (2010), Spice Rhymes

References

External links

Bio at Oldschoolhiphop.com
1958 births 2019 deaths African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers African-American record producers American hip-hop record producers East Coast hip-hop musicians Rappers from Brooklyn 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians Deaths from brain cancer in New York (state) Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians {{US-hiphop-bio-stub