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A pork shoulder rubbed with a spice rub before cooking

Spice rub is any mixture of ground spices that is made for the purpose of being rubbed on raw food before the food is cooked. The spice rub forms a coat on the food. The food can be marinated in the spice rub for some time for the flavors to incorporate into the food or it can be cooked immediately after it is coated in the rub. The spices are usually coarsely ground. In addition to spices, salt and sugar may be added to the rub, the salt for flavor and the sugar for caramelization. The simplest rub is just coarsely ground black pepper as in Steak au poivre.

Spice rubs can also have ingredients like herbs, crushed garlic or oil added to make a paste. The spice rub can be left on or partially removed before cooking.

Common foods that are rubbed[link]

Spice rubs are mainly used for preparing meats and fish. There are a large number of different recipes for rubs and most of them are targeted towards a specific kind of food. The exact combination of spices that makes a good rub for a particular kind of food varies from region to region and culture to culture.

Cooking methods[link]

Cooking with rubs is almost always done using the dry heat method of cooking where almost no water based liquid is used in cooking. The most popular cooking method for food prepared using a spice rub is grilling. Baking and pan roasting are other dry-heat methods. Sautéing is another method, especially if the spice rub includes flour or bread crumbs.

When water is used for cooking, it is usually after the food has already been partially cooked with the dry heat method.

Spice rubs and culture[link]

In some cultures, spice rubs are highly personal and sometimes a very secret recipe. Grill masters in the southern United States jealously guard their recipe secrets and they will usually have a secret ingredient that they will not reveal to anyone. In some cultures, the recipe for making a spice rub and how to cook with it are passed from mother to daughter and every family will have a slightly different recipe. Because of the lack of time to cook in most modern societies, spice rubs are now sold in grocery and gourmet stores with some brands enjoying a loyal following.

External links[link]

Video[link]

• Spice rub video from PBS site
• Steven Raichlein Article About Dry Rub New York Times

See also[link]

• Espresso rub
• Barbecue
• Cooking
• Spice
• Grill
• Regional variations of barbecue

This food ingredient-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Spices and herbs at a grocery shop in Goa, India

Spice shop downtown Amman, Jordan.

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance primarily used for flavoring, coloring or preserving food.^{[citation needed]} Sometimes a spice is used to hide other flavors.^[1]

Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are parts of leafy green plants also used for flavoring or as garnish.

Many spices have antimicrobial properties. This may explain why spices are more commonly used in warmer climates, which have more infectious disease, and why use of spices is especially prominent in meat, which is particularly susceptible to spoiling.^[2]

A spice may have an extra use, usually medicinal, religious ritual, cosmetics or perfume production, or as a vegetable. For example, turmeric roots are consumed as a vegetable and garlic as an antibiotic.

Classification and types[link]

The Gato Negro café and spice shop (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Culinary herbs and spices[link]

Botanical basis[link]

Common spice mixtures[link]

History[link]

Early history[link]

Spices at central market in Agadir, Morocco

Humans were using spices in 50,000 BCE^{[citation needed]}. The spice trade developed throughout the Middle East in around 2000 BCE with cinnamon and pepper, and in East Asia with herbs and pepper. The Egyptians used herbs for embalming and their need for exotic herbs helped stimulate world trade. The word spice comes from the Old French word espice, which became epice, and which came from the Latin root spec, the noun referring to "appearance, sort, kind": species has the same root. By 1000 BCE, medical systems based upon herbs could be found in China, Korea, and India. Early uses were connected with magic, medicine, religion, tradition, and preservation.^[3]

Archaeological excavations have uncovered clove burnt onto the floor of a kitchen, dated to 1700 BCE, at the Mesopotamian site of Terqa, in modern-day Syria.^[4] The ancient Indian epic Ramayana mentions cloves. The Romans had cloves in the 1st century CE, as Pliny the Elder wrote about them.^{[citation needed]}

In the story of Genesis, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers to spice merchants. In the biblical poem Song of Solomon, the male speaker compares his beloved to many forms of spices. Generally, early Egyptian, Chinese, Indian, and Mesopotamian sources do not refer to known spices.^{[citation needed]}

In South Asia, nutmeg, which originates from the Banda Islands in the Molukas, has a Sanskrit name.^{[clarification needed]} Sanskrit is the ancient language of India, showing how old the usage of this spice is in this region.^{[original research?]} Historians believe that nutmeg was introduced to Europe in the 6th century BCE.^[5]

Indonesian merchants traveled around China, India, the Middle East, and the east coast of Africa. Arab merchants facilitated the routes through the Middle East and India. This resulted in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria being the main trading center for spices. The most important discovery prior to the European spice trade were the monsoon winds (40 CE). Sailing from Eastern spice growers to Western European consumers gradually replaced the land-locked spice routes once facilitated by the Middle East Arab caravans.^[3]

Middle Ages[link]

"The Mullus" Harvesting pepper. Illustration from a French edition of The Travels of Marco Polo.

Spices were among the most demanded and expensive products available in Europe in the Middle Ages, the most common being black pepper, cinnamon (and the cheaper alternative cassia), cumin, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. Given the medieval medicine's main theory of humorism, spices and herbs were indispensable to balance "humors" in food,^[6] a daily basis for good health at a time of recurrent pandemics.

Spices were all imported from plantations in Asia and Africa, which made them expensive. From the 8th until the 15th century, the Republic of Venice had the monopoly on spice trade with the Middle East, and along with it the neighboring Italian city-states. The trade made the region rich. It has been estimated that around 1,000 tons of pepper and 1,000 tons of the other common spices were imported into Western Europe each year during the Late Middle Ages. The value of these goods was the equivalent of a yearly supply of grain for 1.5 million people.^[7] The most exclusive was saffron, used as much for its vivid yellow-red color as for its flavor. Spices that have now fallen into obscurity in European cuisine include grains of paradise, a relative of cardamom which most replaced pepper in late medieval north French cooking, long pepper, mace, spikenard, galangal and cubeb.

Early modern period[link]

The control of trade routes and the spice-producing regions were the main reasons that Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama sailed to India in 1499. Spain and Portugal were not happy to pay the high price that Venice demanded for spices. At around the same time, Christopher Columbus returned from the New World, he described to investors new spices available there.^{[citation needed]}

Another source of competition in the spice trade during the fifteenth and sixteenth century was the Ragusans from the maritime republic of Dubrovnik in southern Croatia.^[8]

The military prowess of Afonso de Albuquerque (1453–1515) allowed the Portuguese to take control of the sea routes to India. In 1506, he took the island of Socotra in the mouth of the Red Sea and, in 1507, Ormuz in the Persian Gulf. Since becoming the viceroy of the Indies, he took Goa in India in 1510, and Malacca on the Malay peninsula in 1511. The Portuguese could now trade directly with Siam, China, and the Moluccas. The Silk Road complemented the Portuguese sea routes, and brought the treasures of the Orient to Europe via Lisbon, including many spices.^{[citation needed]}

With the discovery of the New World came new spices, including allspice, bell and chili peppers, vanilla, and chocolate. This development kept the spice trade, with America as a late comer with its new seasonings, profitable well into the 19th century.^{[citation needed]}

In the Caribbean, the island of Grenada is well known^{[clarification needed]} for growing and exporting a number of spices, including the nutmeg, which was introduced to Grenada by the settlers.^{[citation needed]}

Handling spices[link]

A spice may be available in several forms: fresh, whole dried, or pre-ground dried. Generally, spices are dried.^[9] A whole dried spice has the longest shelf life, so it can be purchased and stored in larger amounts, making it cheaper on a per-serving basis. Some spices are rarely available either fresh or whole, for example turmeric, and must be purchased in ground form. Small seeds, such as fennel and mustard seeds, are used both whole and in powder form.

The flavor of a spice is derived in part from compounds that oxidize or evaporate when exposed to air. Grinding a spice greatly increases its surface area and so increases the rates of oxidation and evaporation. Thus, flavor is maximized by storing a spice whole and grinding when needed. The shelf life of a whole spice is roughly two years; of a ground spice roughly six months.^[10] The "flavor life" of a ground spice can be much shorter.^[11] Ground spices are better stored away from light.^[12]

To grind a whole spice, the classic tool is mortar and pestle. Less labor-intensive tools are more common now: a microplane or fine grater can be used to grind small amounts; a coffee grinder^[13] is useful for larger amounts. A frequently used spice such as black pepper may merit storage in its own hand grinder or mill.

Some flavor elements in spices are soluble in water; many are soluble in oil or fat. As a general rule, the flavors from a spice take time to infuse into the food so spices are added early in preparation.^[14]

Production[link]

Production in tonnes. Figures 2009-2010 Researched by FAOSTAT (FAO)
India	1,100,000	70 %
Bangladesh	140,113	9 %
Turkey	87,028	5.7 %
China	85,987	5.5 %
Pakistan	45,473	3 %
Total	1,588,807	100 %

^{[citation needed]}

Standardization[link]

The International Organization for Standardization addresses spices and condiments, along with related food additives, as part of the International Classification for Standards 67.220 series.^[15]

Research[link]

The Indian Institute of Spices Research in Kozhikode, Kerala, is devoted exclusively to researching all aspects of spice crops: black pepper, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, garcinia, vanilla, etc.

See also[link]

Food portal

• Condiment
• List of herbs and spices
• List of Indian spices
• Spice trade

Notes[link]

Sources[link]

• International Organization for Standardization (2009). "67.220: Spices and condiments. Food additives". http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_ics/catalogue_ics_browse.htm?ICS1=67&ICS2=220&development=on. Retrieved 2009-04-23. 
• Linda Civitello (2007). Cuisine and culture: a history of food and people. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 0-471-74172-8. 
• Adamson, Melitta Weiss (2004). Food in Medieval Times. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-32147-7. 
• Scully, Terence (1995). The art of cookery in the Middle Ages. Ipswich: Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-611-8. 
• Host: Alton Brown (14 January 2004). "Spice Capades". Good Eats. episode 14. season 7. Food Network. 

Further reading[link]

Please expand this article. Some suggested sources are given hereafter. More information might be found in a section of the talk page. (March 2012)

Books

• Corn, Charles. Scents of Eden: A History of the Spice Trade. New York: Kodansha, 1999.
• Czarra, Fred (2009). Spices: A Global History. Reaktion Books. p. 128. ISBN 978-1-86189-426-7. 

• "Spices: Fred Czarra". Press.uchicago.edu. http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?mode=synopsis&bookkey=406255. Retrieved 2011-02-18. 

• Dalby, Andrew. Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
• Freedman, Paul. Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination. New Haven: Yale UP, 2008.
• Keay, John. The Spice Route: A History. Berkeley: U of California P, 2006.
• Krondl, Michael. The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice. New York: Ballantine Books, 2007.
• Miller, J. Innes. The Spice Trade of the Roman Empire. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1969.
• Morton, Timothy. Poetics of Spice: Romantic Consumerism and the Exotic. Cambridge UP, 2000.
• Turner, Jack (2004). Spice: The History of a Temptation. Knopf. ISBN 0-375-40721-9. 

Articles

• "Food Bacteria-Spice Survey Shows Why Some Cultures Like It Hot". ScienceDaily. March 5, 1998. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/03/980305053307.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-20. "...Garlic, onion, allspice and oregano, for example, were found to be the best all-around bacteria killers (they kill everything)" 
• Sallam, Kh.I.; Ishioroshi, M; Samejimab, K. (December 2004). "Antioxidant and antimicrobial effects of garlic in chicken sausage". Lebensm. Wiss. Technol. 37 (8): 849–855. DOI:10.1016/j.lwt.2004.04.001. PMC 1805705. PMID 17330154. //www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1805705. 
• Billing, Jennifer; Sherman, Paul W. (March 1998). "Antimicrobial Functions of Spices: Why Some Like it Hot". The Quarterly Review of Biology 73 (1): 3–49. DOI:10.1086/420058. PMID 9586227. 
• "Common Kitchen Spices Kill E. Coli O157:H7". 18 August 1998. http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/pr_fsaf/News%20Releases/relspicfung.htm. "...The study is the first in the United States that looks at the effect of common spices on E. coli O157:H7. Previous studies have concluded spices kill other foodborne pathogens. 'In the first part of our study, we tested 23 spices against E. coli O157:H7 in the laboratory', Fung said. 'We found that several spices are good at killing this strain of E. coli.'" 
• "The Lure and Lore of Spices". http://www.thespicehouse.com/info/lore/. "If the appearance of spices were to reflect their real importance in the history of the world, the bottles of spices would be filled with bright glittery substances, diamonds, rubies, emeralds or gold would be appropriate. When you opened the bottle, a poof of vibrantly colored, mystically fragrant, magical smoke would slowly billow softly throughout the room." 
• "Spice". Encyclopedia of Spices, Spice Blends by Region, The Spice Trade. http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/spiceref.html. Retrieved 2008-12-20. 
• International Organization for Standardization (2009). "67.220: Spices and condiments. Food additives". http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_ics/catalogue_ics_browse.htm?ICS1=67&ICS2=220&development=on. Retrieved 2009-04-23. 

External links[link]

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Spice

Look up spice in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Spice

• Pungency of spices

Look up rub in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

RUB may stand for

• RUB, Russian ruble ISO 4217 currency code
• Ruhr-Universität Bochum
• Royal University of Bhutan

Rub may refer to:

• The Kuliak languages of Uganda
• Spice rub, consisting of spices blended together to season and flavor raw pork, beef, chicken, fish, and wild game before grilling
• Rub or liniment, a medicated topical preparation for application to the skin
• Massage
• Rubbing, an art technique
• Rub (syrup), a kind of syrup extracted from dates used widely in Libya

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

The Holidays
The Holidays
Background information
Origin	Sydney, Australia
Genres	Indie rock, Pop rock, Soul
Years active	2006 - present
Labels	Liberation (Australia), Rallye Label (Japan)
Website	Official Website Myspace
Members
Simon Jones Will Magnus Alex Kortt Andrew Kerridge

The Holidays are an Australian indie pop/soul band. Formed in Sydney in 2006, the band consists of Simon Jones, Will Magnus, Alex Kortt and Andrew Kerridge. The band is most notably known for their Australian Music Prize nominated debut album Post Paradise.

Biography[link]

The Holidays formed in late 2006 and quickly established themselves in the Sydney music scene as an upbeat, energetic addition. Simon Jones & Will Magnus had attended high school together, previously playing in cover bands in their schools' band competition. They were often up against the band Roger Explosion in these competitions, who went on to become the Australian electro-pop band Art vs. Science.

Within their first year as a band together, The Holidays toured with Jamie T,^[1] with The View,^[2] with Ben Kweller,^[3] and recorded an EP of demos which quickly sold out at gigs and received regular airplay on radio stations both in Australia^[4] and in the USA. In November 2007 The Holidays were featured on the Next Crop segment of national youth radio station Triple J,^[5] soon followed by their signing with independent Australian record label Liberation Music, in early 2008.

The Holidays released their debut EP on 19 April 2008 to positive reviews^[6] which was followed by a substantial national tour to promote the release. They released their second EP "When The Ship Goes Down" in October 2008, which showed the band's natural progression with song-writing. Recorded with Wayne Connolly of The Vines and Josh Pyke fame, this EP was followed by a 20 date national tour, co-headlining with Brisbane band Yves Klein Blue.

The Holidays' debut album Post Paradise soon followed, after several months of writing and experimenting. Drawn away from the simplicity of their earlier indie guitar manifestation, Post Paradise showed the bands development with both the groove and layers of a song, combined with their recognizable pop hooks. This album differed from previous recordings by The Holidays' in that it was self-produced and recorded in various locations around Sydney and New South Wales.

"Moonlight Hours", the first single from their debut album was taken to radio in November 2009, and added to high rotation on national youth radio station Triple J. "Golden Sky" was the second single from The Holidays debut album, released in May 2010, which was followed by an east coast tour of Australia to promote the release. There is a music video for both these singles, made by Melbourne company Moop Jaw.

"Post Paradise" was released in Australia on 24 September 2010, in conjunction with third single, Broken Bones, which was added to radio nationally. The album has received very positive reviews since its release, which included amongst other reviews, being shortlisted for the Australian Music Prize and winning the Red Bull Award for Best Debut Album. Post Paradise also received "Album of the Week" in Drum Media, Beat Magazine, BMA Mag & The Brag,^[7] 4.5 stars in The Herald Sun, The Daily Telegraph & The Courier Mail, as well as positive reviews in The Age & The Sydney Morning Herald. Post Paradise won The Age Readers Choice Best Album of 2010,^[8] and was the Triple J Feature Album for the week commencing 26 December 2010.

The Holidays toured Post Paradise substantially in 2010 and 2011, including shows at SXSW in Austin, Texas, The Great Escape Festival in Brighton, UK, and Australian festivals including Groovin' the Moo, Laneway Festival and Splendour in the Grass. The Holidays' current live show incorporates a fifth touring member, David Zucker as percussionist, as well occasional backing vocalists.

Members[link]

• Simon Jones - Vocals, Guitar, Keys, Production
• Will Magnus - Lead Guitar, Keys
• Alex Kortt - Bass Guitar
• Andrew Kerridge - Drums, Percussion, Supreme Aficionado

Touring[link]

• Toured with Jamie T in May 2007
• Toured with The View in June 2007
• Toured with Ben Kweller in October 2007
• Played nationally at the 2008 St Jerome's Laneway Festival
• Toured with The Wombats in March 2008
• Toured with Lightspeed Champion in July 2008
• Played at Homebake 2008
• Played at Falls Festival 2008
• Toured with Bluejuice in April 2010
• Played at St Jerome's Laneway Festival 2011 across Australia
• Played at SXSW in Austin, Texas in March 2011
• Played at the Groovin' the Moo Festival across Australia in May 2011
• Toured with Cut Copy in Australia in May 2011
• Played at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton, and Dot to Dot Festival across the UK in May 2011
• Played at Splendour In The Grass in August 2011.
• Played at the inaugural Harvest Festival in Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane in November 2011 along with The Flaming Lips, Portishead and Tv on the Radio.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Post Paradise (Australia - 24 September 2010, Japan - January 2011)

EPs[link]

• The Holidays (19 April 2008)
• When The Ship Goes Down (11 October 2008)
• Golden Sky (Australia - May 2010, UK - August 2010 )

Singles[link]

• Moonlight Hours (December 2009)
• Golden Sky (May 2010)
• Broken Bones (September 2010)
• 2 Days (February 2011)

Awards & Nominations[link]

• 2010 The Age EG Award - Readers Choice Best Album of 2010 - Won
• 2010 Australian Music Prize - Nominated
• 2010 Australian Music Prize - Red Bull Award for Best Debut Album - Won
• 2011 Jägermeister Independent Music Awards - Breakthrough Independent Artist of the Year - Nominated

Further information[link]

• The Holidays song 'Telephone' was featured on an Australian television advertising campaign for Clearasil in late 2007.
• The Holidays song 'Golden Sky' was used in the Channel 7 summer 2010/2011 advertising campaign.
• Simon Jones collaborated & sung vocals with Australian dance duo Bag Raiders on the track 'Not Over' from their eponymous debut album.

References[link]

Richie Spice (born Richell Bonner on September 8, 1971 in Rock Hall, St. Andrew, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae artist.^[1] He is a member of the Rastafari movement. Some of his most famous songs include, "Youth Dem Cold", "Groovin' My Girl", "Earth A Run Red", "Marijuana" and "The Plane Land". He is one of the Bonner brothers all of whom are reggae artists, including Pliers and Spanner Banner.

Biography[link]

Spice's first Jamaican single "Killing a Sound" was produced by Dennis "Star" Hayes. This was followed by "Shine" by ace Jamaican record producer/musician Clive Hunt. Spice also teamed up with Hunt for his debut album on the Island Jamaica Label from which came his first major hit "Grooving my girl". His sister, Bridgett Bonner for Bonner Productions Ltd., organized his second album. The album produced 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-'90s, Spice has performed at all major shows staged locally namely Reggae Sun Splash (a paid tribute by him to Bob Marley), White River Reggae Bash, Rebel Salute and many others. Spice has opened shows for the likes of Chaka Demus and Pliers, Spanner Banner and Rita Marley on extensive tours of Europe and the United States 1996-1997.

He again toured East North America from June to September 2001. His increased popularity has gained him spots at numerous venues. His most recent projects include performances at Sting held at Jam World St. Catherine (December 26, 2002) and Sting Miami (March 2003).

More recently, a remix of one of his more popular tracks, "Marijuana" by Digital Mystikz's Coki, re-named "Burnin'" has focused more attention to him in the blossoming dubstep 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.

His song 'Youth Dem Cold' was featured on Grand Theft Auto IV's Massive B Soundsytem 96.9 and the ending sound track of Attack the Block.

Richie Spice-Book of Job The Old Testament’s Book of Job considered the Bible’s most profound and scholarly work, addresses the significance of unwavering faith as it relates the tribulations endured by a godly man named Job. As a series of circumstances take Job from prosperity to destitution, it is his devotion to the Almighty that carries him through his greatest adversities and ultimately, restores his fortunes.

Singer Richie Spice’s chose “Book of Job” as the title for his 5th album, scheduled for release on February 22, 2011 on VP Records, because his commitment to creating uplifting music is as unwavering as Job’s faith was while enduring his many hardships. “A whole heap of things reach Job, he lose wealth, he lose him family, him lose everything, but because he was praising God, he regain,” Spice explains. “It’s the same thing with the music: it is righteousness me declare to the fullest and me nah go switch. A lot of people switch and sing other songs but we say righteousness because righteousness shall cover the earth like water cover the sea. We never give up on those words. It is something that we know must happen in time.”

Although prevailing trends find many reggae artists glorifying an array of vices, Spice’s steadfast commitment to Jah Rastafari propels his mission of using music as an honorable weapon, which he wields to stunning effect throughout “Book of Job”. Whether he is extolling “The Mother of Creation” or honoring his “Father”, celebrating the “Joy of Reggae” or “The Soothing Sound” that is Jamaican music overall (and Spice’s music in particular) Spice’s evocatively sung vocals complemented by scatted punctuations and deejayed phrases are neatly woven into organically crafted one drop riddims (courtesy of the set’s primary producer Donovan Germain) yielding a benchmark release for contemporary cultural reggae. “When you sing of good, you will find that evil rise up and try to dominate the good,” Spice observes. “Culture music might rise, people start to accept it and artists jump on the bandwagon but if they see evil more popular than good then they will go towards the evil. But there are artists who never stray and I will always use my talent to do good because good will always overcome evil.”

Since he began singing Richie Spice has dependably used his music for good, guaranteeing that inspirational roots reggae isn’t relegated to a bygone era but continues as a thriving, evolving genre. Born Richell Bonner in the Kingston, Jamaica suburb of St. Andrew, Richie Spice hails from a musical family that includes his older brother Pliers (from the deejay/singer duo Chaka Demus and Pliers of “Murder She Wrote” fame), singer Spanner Banner and deejay Snatcher Dogg. It was Spanner Banner (best known for his hit “Life Goes On”) who first brought Spice to the recording studio; the hopeful singer, initially, couldn’t manage the rigors of voicing on a riddim track but the opportunity opened his eyes to the proficiency required to succeed in the (reggae) music industry. “That experience show me that to reach anywhere there is a lot of work to be done,” Spice reflects.

Spice continued working towards gaining a foothold in the music business and before long, he met veteran producer Clive Hunt who produced his breakthrough single “Grooving My Girl”, a captivating lovers rock tune that is still one of the most popular songs within Spice’s repertoire. “Grooving” was initially featured on Spice’s 2000 debut album “Universal” (Heartbeat Records) as was the song that would make him a household name in Jamaica, the apocalyptic roots anthem “Earth A Run Red”. In 2004 he joined forces with Kingston based 5th Element Records/Management who recognized Spice’s songs had the potential to reach a wider audience. 5th Element rereleased “Earth A Run Red” and shot an accompanying video; the song went on to become (arguably) the biggest reggae hit of 2004 and the New York Times named Spice’s sophomore release “Spice in Your Life” as one of that year’s best reggae albums (VP Records rereleased “Spice in Your Life” in 2006).

Since then Spice has gone on to reap numerous awards including Male Singer/Singjay of the Year at Jamaica’s IRIE FM Awards in 2007 and, following his performance at the first annual “Black My Story” concert held in Kingston on Feb. 2, 2008 Spice was honored for his positive musical contributions. Spice has also released three superb albums for VP Records: “In the Streets To Africa”, reached no. 6 on the Billboard Reggae chart in 2007, its hit single “Youth Dem Cold”, produced by popular New York Reggae radio personality Bobby Konders, peaked at no. 59 on the Billboard Top 100 Singles Chart. “Gideon Boot” debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard Reggae chart, in May 2008, propelled by the hits “Di Plane Land” and the inspiring title track that details his vow to continually wage war for the survival of righteous reggae.

“Book of Job” builds upon those valorous efforts with a compelling mix of Rasta anthems (“Jah Never Let Us Down”), unity pleas (“No More War”) selections for the ladies (“Serious Woman” produced by Shane Brown) and social commentaries drawn from Spice’s life experiences (“Street Life” and “Yap Yap”, produced by Stephen “Lenky” Marsden). Spice has performed throughout the world including concerts in Japan, all over Europe and in Africa, and his interactions with people from various hscultures has influenced his writing. “Legal”, for example, was inspired by his visit to Goree Island, just off the coast of Senegal, where slaves were held before they were shackled and forced on to ships that sailed across the Atlantic, making stops throughout the Caribbean on their way to the Americas. “That song is to honor the tribulation that those people go through at those time,” Spice explains. The song’s memorable hook, meanwhile, sums up the injustices that persist today: “Wi legal still dem a gwaan like seh wi illegal.”

Spice targets the drugs, guns and other oppressive tools of the “Babylon” system (“some don’t want you lift your head above the water…Babylon dem want to keep you in the gutter’) on “Confirmation”; he urges his brothers to show respect to each other and honor their ancestors’ sacrifices as he cautions “Don’t Call Mi No Dog” (produced by Horace Davis): “To call one’s self a dog is to lower one’s self-esteem and self-worth,” says Spice, acknowledging a common street slang used among the youths. “I don't feel good to hear my brothers calling themselves dogs. As an artist, it is my job to uplift the youths and teach them right from wrong, that's why I do this song.”

In Spice’s heartfelt prayer to the Almighty, “Better Tomorrow”, he asks for strength to face a new day while expressing hope for a brighter future. “You have people out there who need help,” says Spice, “and the only way for me to give dem hope right now is through music.” With the release of “Book of Job” Spice honors his pledge towards making music that empowers and educates as it entertains, insuring a better tomorrow for reggae music.”

 The most recent works of the artiste, Richie Spice, is he has been touring West Coast, USA for the past 4 consecutive years, with much success and gaining added recognition of his works and messages from all class, creed and culture.  He has graced many a countries, cities and states belting an imprint of what authentic, life-long reggae music is to be, such places include, Kenya, Australia, The Caribbean, Europe, USA, Costa Rica and Brazil, just to name a few.

Reggae Music is my conscious livity that helps me to embrace life each new day as it dawns, "Spice proclaims".

Discography[link]

• 1999: Living Ain't Easy
• 2000: Universal
• 2006: Spice In Your Life
• 2007: In The Streets To Africa #6 at Top Reggae Albums^[2]
• 2008: Gideon Boot #1 at Top Reggae Albums^[2]
• 2009: Street Life
• 2011: Book Of Job

References[link]

This Jamaican biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This article about a reggae musician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e