“Now they try to wonder and figure how the fuck Charles Manson turn himself to a nigger,” Spice 1 says. The first bar of that line doesn’t really make sense, but the second one is a rare moment of metaphorical brilliance from an otherwise run-of-the-mill gangsta rapper. You listen to Spice 1 albums not for his wit but for his cap-busting tough talk and the grimy beats they’re presented upon. In that regard, AmeriKKKa’s Nightmare doesn’t disappoint. It’s his third, longest and perhaps best album so far.

D-Boyz Got Love for Me, featuring Jive labelmate E-40, is an odd start, but it’s addictive vibe, led by one of the sickest basslines you ever heard Spice 1 rap to, makes it one of the best songs on the album. The piano-led Tell Me What That Mail Like is another. In almost every case, with the exception of a few G-Funk knock-offs, it’s the music, most of which is carefully produced by Blackjack, that overshadows the vocals to the point where you almost start to wonder if the album would be better as an instrumental.

I don’t know, but the only major gripe I have with the album, other than the fact that Spice 1 insists on dating his songs with “94” references, is the diss song. It’s dedicated to Pooh Man; a “fat-ass pudgy” rapper Spice 1 is apparently beefing with. It’s interesting to hear him go at a real person, but the hook, which makes the artistic blunder of stealing a line from Menace To Society, is awkwardly off-beat. Worse yet, the song, which ends the album, has basically nothing to do with the overall concept.

my rating : 3 of 5

1994