Spice 1 is a Bay Area rap legend. Born Robert Lee Greene Jr., he first became interested in rapping after watching Ice-T in the 1980s movies Breakin’ and Rappin’ . As a teenager, he was taken under Too Short ’s wing, joined the Dangerous Crew and signed to Jive Records, releasing six albums under the label throughout the 1990s. Incredibly prolific since, his latest album is Platinum O.G. 2 .

Ahead of his headlining set at the third annual History of the Bay party on Sunday, Nov. 9 at Public Works in San Francisco (which includes appearances by Too Short , Marshawn Lynch , Iamsu , Lyrics Born and others) Joshua Minsoo Kim spoke with Spice 1 to discuss his upbringing in Hayward, breakdancing at the mall, running from the cops, meeting Too Short and picking up the mic.

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