Richell Bonner (born 8 September 1971), better known as Richie Spice, is a Jamaican

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the ...

artist. He is a member of the

Rastafari movement Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of ...

. Some of his most famous songs include, "Brown Skin", "Youth Dem Cold Rel Bad", "Grooving' My Girl", "Earth a Run Red", "Marijuana" ,"The Plane Land" and "King and Queen" (which he did with Barbadian Queen of Soca

Alison Hinds Alison Amanda Hinds (born 1 June 1970) is a British-born Bajan soca artist based in Barbados. She is one of the most popular soca singers in the world. Biography Alison Hinds was born in London on 1 June 1970 and grew up in Plaistow.Batey, A ...

). Three of his brothers are also reggae artists –

Pliers Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, possibly developed from tongs used to handle hot metal in Bronze Age Europe. They are also useful for bending and physically compressing a wide range of materials. Generally, pliers consi ...

, Spanner Banner and Snatcha Lion.

Biography

Bonner was born in Rock Hall,

St. Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

, Jamaica. He is the brother of Pliers, Spanner Banner and Snatcha Lion. His first Jamaican single "Killing a Sound" was produced by Dennis "Star" Hayes. This was followed by "Shine", produced by

Clive Hunt Clive Hunt (born 31 May 1952) is a Jamaican reggae multi-instrumentist, arranger, composer and producer. Biography Hunt was born in Linstead, St. Catherine, Jamaica. He learned the trumpet while at Stony Hill Approved school, and joined th ...

. Bonner also teamed up with Hunt for his debut album on the

Island Jamaica An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerry, skerries, cays or keys. An river island, island in a river or a lak ...

label from which came his first major hit "Grooving my girl". His second album included hits such as "Earth a Run Red", "Living Ain't Easy", "Land of Jamaica", "Time So Rough", the aforementioned "Grooving My Girl" and many others. Having gained popularity in the mid-1990s, Bonner has performed at major shows such as

Reggae Sunsplash Reggae Sunsplash is a reggae music festival first staged in 1978 in the northern part of Jamaica. In 1985 it expanded with the addition of an international touring festival. The festival ran annually until 1996, with a final event in 1998, befo ...

, White River Reggae Bash, Rebel Salute and many others. Bonner opened shows for the likes of Chaka Demus and Pliers, Spanner Banner and

Rita Marley Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) Rita is a female given name, often a name in its own right, but mostly a shortened version of Margarita. The feast day of Rita is generally celebrated on May 22 in honor of Saint Rita of Cascia. Th ...

(widow of the late

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

} on extensive tours of Europe and the United States during 1996-1997. He again toured East North America from June to September 2001. He performed at Sting held at Jam World, St. Catherine (26 December 2002) and Sting Miami (March 2003). More recently, a remix of one of his more popular tracks, "Marijuana", by

Digital Mystikz Digital Mystikz are a dubstep production duo consisting of Mala (born Mark Lawrence), and Coki (born Dean Harris, 26 August 1980) from the South London suburb of Norwood. Along with Loefah and SGT Pokes, who make up the group ASBO (All Soundbwo ...

's Coki, renamed "Burnin has focused more attention to him in the blossoming

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

scene coming out of the UK. The original version of "Marijuana" also appears on the ''These Are Serious Times'' modern reggae compilation on

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six alb ...

. His song "Youth Dem Cold" was featured on ''

Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the ...

''s Massive B Soundsytem 96.9 and the ending sound track of ''

Attack the Block ''Attack the Block'' is a 2011 British science fiction comedy horror film written and directed by Joe Cornish and starring John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker and Nick Frost. It was the film debut of Cornish, Boyega and composer Steven Price. The ...

''. Bonner chose ''Book of Job'' as the title for his fifth album, released on 22 February 2011 on

VP Records VP Records is an independent Caribbean-owned record label in Queens, New York. The label is known for releasing music by notable artists in reggae, dancehall and soca. VP Records has offices in New York City, Miami, London, Kingston, Tokyo, Joh ...

, stating that his commitment to creating uplifting music is as unwavering as

Job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...

's faith was while enduring his many hardships. Richie Spice Acoustic - Soothing Sounds, was released in October 2012 and featured musicians such as

Robbie Shakespeare Robert Warren Dale Shakespeare (27 September 1953 – 8 December 2021) was a Jamaican bass guitarist and record producer, best known as half of the reggae rhythm section and production duo Sly and Robbie, with drummer Sly Dunbar. Regarded as ...

and

Bongo Herman Herman Davis (born 16 September 1944), better known as Bongo Herman, is a Jamaican hand-drummer, percussionist and singer who has had a successful career stretching back to the early 1960s. Biography Herman Davis was born on 16 September 1944, ...

.Spice Goes Acoustic
, ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety ...

'', 22 August 2012, retrieved 1 September 2012 Album ''Together We Stand'' was released on VP Records on 12 June 2020 and featured lead track 'Together We Stand" and "Valley of Jehoshaphat (Red Hot)". He also runs the Bonner Cornerstone label with his brothers. Richie Spice is a supporter of Food For the Poor (FFP) Jamaica, and gives a proportion of the proceeds from his performances to the charity.

Discography

2013-08-25 Chiemsee Reggae Summer - Richie Spice 5629

* ''Living Ain't Easy'' (1999) * ''Universal'' (2000), Heartbeat * ''Spice in Your Life'' (2006), VP * '' In the Streets to Africa'' (2007), VP - Top Reggae Albums #6 * ''Motherland Africa'' (2007), Penitentiary - also released as ''Africa Calling'' * ''Gideon Boot'' (2008), VP - Top Reggae Albums #1 * ''Book of Job'' (2011), VP - Top Reggae Albums #4 * ''Richie Spice Acoustic - Soothing Sounds'' (2012), Tad's International * ''Together We Stand'' (2020), VP ;Compilations: * ''Toe 2 Toe'' (2005), Charm - with

Jah Cure Jah Cure, or Iyah Cure (born Siccature Alcock on 11 October 1978 in Hanover, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae musician, who was raised in Kingston. He was given the name Jah Cure by Capleton whom he met while growing up in Kingston. Career His ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spice, Richie Jamaican reggae musicians Jamaican Rastafarians 1971 births Living people People from Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica VP Records artists