Music video by Richie Spice performing Brown Skin.
Reggae musician Richell Bonner, is best known by his stage name, Richie Spice. He is a member of the Rastafari movement.
“Brown Skin,” “Youth Dem Cold Rel Bad,” “Groovin’ My Girl,” “Earth a Run Red,” “Marijuana,” “The Plane Land,” and “King and Queen” are some of his most well-known songs.Pliers, Spanner Banner, and Snatcha Lion are three of his brothers who have all found success in the reggae industry.
Biography
Bonner’s birthplace is the Jamaican parish of St. Andrew, specifically the Rock Hall. Pliers, Spanner Banner, and Snatcha Lion are his siblings. “Killing a Sound,” his first hit in Jamaica, was produced by Dennis “Star” Hayes. The Clive Hunt-produced single “Shine” followed. Bonner and Hunt collaborated on the first album of the Island Jamaica artist, from which the smash song “Grooving My Lady” was released. “Grooving My Girl,” “Earth a Run Red,” and “Living Ain’t Easy” were among the many hits on his second album.
Since his rise to prominence in the mid-1990s, Bonner has performed at many high-profile events, including the Reggae Sunsplash, the White River Reggae Bash, and the Rebel Salute. During 1996 and 1997, Bonner served as the opening act for several European and American tours by artists such as Chaka Demus and Pliers, Spanner Banner, and Rita Marley (the late Bob Marley’s wife).
From June to September of 2001, he travelled through Eastern North America once more. His performances were included in both Sting (December 2002, Jam World, St. Catherine) and Sting (December 2002, Miami) (March 2003).
More recently, he has garnered more notoriety in the burgeoning UK dubstep scene thanks to a remix of one of his more famous songs, “Marijuana,” by Digital Mystikz’s Coki, entitled “Burnin’.” These Are Serious Times, an XL Recordings anthology of contemporary reggae, includes the original version of “Marijuana” as well.
His song “Youth Dem Cold” was featured in the credits of the video games Grand Theft Auto IV and Attack the Block.
While promoting his fifth studio album, “Book of Job,” which was released on VP Records on February 22, 2011, Bonner compared his dedication to making uplifting music to the unshakeable faith with which Job faced his many trials.
Robbie Shakespeare and Bongo Herman were two of the guests on Acoustic—Soothing Sounds, an album by Richie Spice that came out in October 2012.
The VP Records album Together We Stand, including the single “Together We Stand” and the song “Valley of Jehoshaphat (Red Hot),” was published on June 12, 2020.
Along with his siblings, he manages the record label Bonner Cornerstone.
For his part, Richie Spice donates a percentage of his earnings to Food for the Poor (FFP) Jamaica.