KLASSIC KUTS: Hip Hop’s First Great Storyteller

Some rappers wanted to be the loudest guy on the microphone.

Spoonie Gee didn’t.

He just wanted you to listen.

When “Spoonin’ Rap” dropped in 1979 on Sound of New York, USA Records, hip-hop was still trying to figure out what a rap record should sound like. Most people knew rap from neighborhood park jams, recreation centers, school dances and block parties. If you wanted to hear your favorite MC, you had to be there. Vinyl was just beginning to catch up with what was already happening in the streets.

Then came Spoonie Gee.

Born Gabriel Jackson in Harlem, Spoonie Gee was already making a name for himself before most of America even knew what an MC was. He helped form one of hip-hop’s earliest legendary crews, The Treacherous Three, alongside Kool Moe Dee, L.A. Sunshine and DJ Easy Lee. Before the group officially took off, Spoonie decided to focus on his solo career. That’s when Special K stepped in and completed the lineup most fans came to know. Years later, Spoonie reunited with the group for a handful of recordings and live performances under the name Spoonie Gee and the Treacherous Three, reminding everybody that he had been there from the very beginning.

“Spoonin’ Rap” immediately stood apart.

Instead of trying to overpower the music, Spoonie let the beat breathe. His delivery was smooth. Relaxed. Confident. He sounded like that cool guy in the neighborhood who always had the best stories. Every line painted a picture. You didn’t just hear the record. You could actually see it playing out in your head.

The groove borrowed from Cloud One’s “Patty Duke,” but Spoonie made it his own. He proved that talking rhythmically over a beat wasn’t just entertaining. It was an art form.

Years later, Wax Poetics described Spoonie Gee as being “cool before Rakim ever touched a microphone.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Now, as much as I respect “Spoonin’ Rap,” if I’m being honest, the record that influenced me even more was “Love Rap.”

Released on April 14, 1980, on Enjoy Records, “Love Rap” took hip-hop somewhere it hadn’t really gone before.

Most rap records were about rocking the party. DJs. Crews. Showing everybody your skills.

Spoonie Gee talked about love.

About chasing girls.

About relationships.

That sounds normal today.

Back then, it was different.

That’s why people started calling him The Love Rapper.

Produced by his uncle, legendary record man Bobby Robinson, “Love Rap” was simple in the best way. A steady drum beat. Live congas played by Spoonie’s brother Pooche Costello. No big production. No extra distractions.

Just a great storyteller with a microphone.

Looking back now, it’s easy to hear the influence. Long before LL Cool J gave us “I Need Love,” Spoonie Gee had already shown the world that a rapper could tell a love story and still keep his credibility. He helped open a lane that countless artists would eventually travel.

The song has never been forgotten either. VH1 ranked “Love Rap” among its 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs, proving that one of rap’s earliest love stories still deserves its flowers.

Spoonie has often said he believes he was one of the first solo MCs to make a rap record. Whether people rank him first or among the first, one thing is hard to argue.

He changed the conversation.

He showed that one MC could carry an entire record with nothing but personality, confidence and the ability to tell a story.

Today, Spoonie Gee is still respected as one of hip-hop’s true pioneers. He continues making appearances and sharing stories about those early days when nobody knew if rap music would still be around five years later.

I’m sure glad it is.

Because every time I pull “Spoonin’ Rap” or “Love Rap” out of the crate, I’m reminded that hip-hop wasn’t built only on great beats.

It was built on great storytellers.

And Spoonie Gee was one of the first to make me say…I think I want to try that!

Check out “Spoonin’ Rap” below and “Love Rap.”

You’re Welcome.

Klassic Love,

Madd Hatta

Love Rap