Gabriel Jackson (born May 27, 1963), better known by his stage name Spoonie Gee, is one of the earliest

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

artists, and one of the few to have released rap records in the 1970s. He has been credited with originating the term hip hop and some of the themes in his music were precursors of gangsta rap.

Career

Jackson was born in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, receiving his 'Spoonie' nickname as a child because the spoon was the only utensil that he used to eat with.Larkin, Colin (1999) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music'', Virgin Books, pp. 322–23. Shapiro, Peter (2005) ''The Rough Guide to Hip-Hop'', Rough Guides, pp. 344–45. His mother died when he was twelve years old, and he went to live with his uncle, the record producer Bobby Robinson, in whose apartment he began to practice rapping.Toop, David (1984) ''The Rap Attack: African Jive to New York Hip Hop'', Pluto. His first recording came about after Peter Brown visited Robinson's record store and mentioned that he was looking to make a rap record. Spoonie's name was suggested, and he recorded "Spoonin' Rap", which was released on Brown's Sound of New York, USA imprint, featuring a lyric that included jailhouse references that would later become common in gangsta rap, and with echo applied to his vocals. Spoonie Gee has been described as "the original gangsta rapper". Leland, John (1989)
RECORDINGS; Rap as Public Forum on Matters of Life and Death
, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', 12 March 1989. retrieved 2010-03-28Leland, John (1990)
HIP HOP FOR BEGINNERS A Parents' Guide to What's Dookie and Fly
, '' Newsday'', 26 August 1990. retrieved 2010-03-28 He then recorded for Robinson's Enjoy! Records; his first release for the label being the similarly minimalistic "Love Rap" (on which he was accompanied on congas by his brother Pooche Costello), issued on the B-side of the

Treacherous Three The Treacherous Three was a pioneering American hip hop group that was formed in 1978 and consisted of DJ Easy Lee, Kool Moe Dee, L.A. Sunshine, Special K and Spoonie Gee (who left in the late 1970s), with occasional contributions from DJ ...

's "New Rap Language" (on which he also featured), leading to his early nickname of 'The Love Rapper'.Pierson, Richard " Spoonie Gee Biography,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, retrieved 2010-03-28 Jackson was a founding member of the

, along with L.A. Sunshine and

Kool Moe Dee Mohandas Dewese (born August 8, 1962), better known by his stage name Kool Moe Dee, is an American rapper, writer and actor. Considered one of the forerunners of the new jack swing sound in hip hop, he gained fame in the 1980s as a member of one ...

. Although the group added

Special K Special K is an American brand of breakfast cereal and meal bars manufactured by Kellogg's. The cereal was introduced to the United States in 1955. It is made primarily from grains such as lightly toasted rice, wheat and barley. Special K used ...

as a member when Jackson left to record his first single, Gee maintained ties and affiliation with the group, and also played a hand in the group getting their first record deal. The group was named Spoonie Gee and the Treacherous Three when Jackson returned for a period before going solo. He left Enjoy! and moved to Sugar Hill Records, where he enjoyed further hits with "Spoonie's Back" and the collaboration with

the Sequence The Sequence was an American female hip–hop trio from Columbia, South Carolina, who formed in 1979. The Sequence is noted as the first female hip hop trio signed to the Sugar Hill Records label in the late–1970s and early–1980s. The group ...

on "Monster Jam". In 1985, he moved on again to Aaron Fuchs' Tuff City label, on which the majority of his later output was issued, including "That's My Style", on which he attacked

Schoolly D Jesse Bonds Weaver Jr. (born June 22, 1962), better known by the stage name Schoolly D (sometimes spelled Schooly D), is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Career Schoolly D teamed up with DJ Code Money in the mid-1980s. His ...

for copying his style. By the mid-1980s, he was also working in a rehabilitation centre for people with learning disabilities. His career took off once again in 1987 with his debut album ''The Godfather of Rap'', produced by

Marley Marl Marlon Williams (born September 30, 1962), better known by his stage name Marley Marl, is an American DJ, record producer, rapper and record label founder, primarily operating in hip hop music. Marlon grew up in Queensbridge housing projects ...

and

Teddy Riley Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer credited with the creation of the New Jack Swing genre. Riley credits Barry Michael Cooper with giving the genre its name.Hogan, Paul. "Tedd ...

, and issued on the Tuff City label. His career has since been hampered by several spells in prison. In the mid-1990s, a compilation of his work, ''Godfather of Hip Hop'', was issued on the Ol' Skool Flava label. In the mid-2000s, he returned with a new EP, ''The Boss Is Back''. In 2008, "Love Rap" was ranked number 65 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.VH1’s 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs
, Stereogum.com. retrieved 2010-03-28

Discography

Albums

* ''The Godfather of Rap'' (1987), Tuff City * ''Old and New Jams'' (1989), BCM (compilation) * ''Old and New Jams/The Godfather'' (1993), BCM (compilation) * ''Godfather of Hip Hop'' (1996), Ol' Skool Flava (compilation)

Singles

* "Spoonin' Rap" (1979), Sound of New York * "Love Rap" (1979), Enjoy! – B-side of

's "New Rap Language" * "Monster Jam" (1980), Sugar Hill – Spoonie Gee Meets

The Sequence The Sequence was an American female hip–hop trio from Columbia, South Carolina, who formed in 1979. The Sequence is noted as the first female hip hop trio signed to the Sugar Hill Records label in the late–1970s and early–1980s. The group ...

* "Spoonie Is Back" (1981), Sugar Hill * "Re-Mix of Spoonie Rap" (1982), Heavenly Star * "The Big Beat" (1983), Tuff City/ Epic * "Get Off My Tip" (1985), Tuff City * "New Love Rap" (1985), Enjoy! * "Street Girl" (1985), Tuff City * "That's My Style"/"I'll Serve You Right" b/w "Take It Off " (1986), Tuff City * "I'm All Shook Up" (1987), Tuff City * "The Godfather" (1987), Tuff City * "(You Ain't Just a Fool) You's an Old Fool" (1988), Tuff City * "Mighty Mike Tyson" (1988), Tuff City * "Spoonin' Rap" (1999), Ol' Skool Flava * " Bodyrock" - Moby featuring Spoonie G (1999), Mute, V2 * ''The Boss Is Back'' EP (2005), New Sound of Harlem

References

External links

Discography
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spoonie Gee Living people African-American male rappers People from Harlem Rappers from Manhattan East Coast hip hop musicians Treacherous Three members 1963 births 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people