Second studio album by Spice 1, released a year after his debut. The album title plays on the television series "Murder, She Wrote" starring Angela Lansbury, where 187 stands for murder in the California State Penal Code. The production is provided by a dozen different beatmakers: Prodeje, CMT, E-A-Ski, Too Short, Mentally Blunted, Ant Banks, MC Eiht, Johnny Z and Xtra Large. The Texas-born rapper collaborates with Boss, G-Nut, Ant Banks, MC Eiht, Havikk The Rhime Son & Prodeje, and E-40.
The soundscape produced by these beatmakers is simply fantastic, solid, funky, relaxed, sometimes dark and hard, always bright: composed of rhythms that can easily be filed under the term «mobb music finest», with deeply relaxed and relaxing wonderful boom baps, slow, hard and pounding drums, sometimes downtempo and midtempo, sublime samples and a little bit of g-funk, it's the best production on a Spice 1 album ever.
The MC raised in the Bay Area here is at his best, always fit with the chosen production, performs tight gangsta lyrics with a dark narrative about drugs, murders, thug life, and g-ish, delivering his verses with a slow and hardcore flow, velvet and energetic, flawless, dope. The pinnacle of the whole project is probably inherent in the initial cut, "I'm the Fuckin 'Murderer": amazing relaxed jazzy-funky boom bap, dope, brilliant sample from The Miracles' "Do It Baby", perfect tight pounding drum machine, slow smooth delivery, perfect, dope. Immense cut, it's a gem in Spice's career.
The next track follows on from the previous one, with similar rhythm and delivery and good synths in the background: in general, the first quarter of an hour of this album is flawless. Later, with the arrival of the guests, even the record itself relaxes, Spice and other rappers continue to extract excellent performances: after "Smoke 'Em Like a Blunt", which is a ragga filler interpreted with a delivery in that style by the Texan rapper on midtempo production, it's the Compton rapper MC Eiht who provides another very strong point within the album, making "The Murda Show". In the final section of the disc, the listener is greeted by several entrancing midtempo and downtempo musical carpets.
The album is one of the best LPs in West Coast history, devoid of any weaknesses despite 15 tracks and an hour of listening, it shows the great talent of Spice 1. Distributed by Jive Records, the album reaches number one among rap records, tenth on the Billboard 200 and is certified gold within months of its release. Excellent record, must-have for the gangsta rap fans.
Highlights: "I'm the Fuckin' Murderer", "Dumpin' Em in Ditches", "Gas Chamber", "187 He Wrote", "The Murda Show", "Runnin' Out da Crackhouse", "Trigga Gots No Heart".
Rating: 8.5/10.
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