Dee Dee King: Standing In The Spotlight. 1989.

One of the earliest post-Ramones projects, Dee Dee King was Dee Dee Ramones hip-hop alter ego.



In 1987, while still in the Ramones, Dee Dee recorded the Funky Man single. In 1989, shortly before quitting the Ramones, he released a full length followup to the single. This would be the last Dee Dee King release. Standing in the spotlight is ten tracks long and features Chris Stein on guitar and Marky Ramone on drums, as well as a few backing vocals by Blondie's Debbie Harry.
The album opens up with Mashed Potato Time, a reworking of the Dee Dee Sharp hit. Like most songs, Mashed Potato Time is a boastful, lazy, rock and roll influenced late 80's rap. Tracks like 2 Much 2 Drink and German Kid are both fun and semi-autobiographical. Baby Doll, a ballad he wrote for his wife Vera Ramone, is a decent slow ballad, but seems a little out of place in context. A few of the songs do a good job of mixing Dee Dee King's rap with Dee Dee Ramone's punk. Most notable of these is The Crusher, which the Ramones recorded on their final studio album, Adios Amigos.

While somewhat uneven, this very rare album is a must find for Dee Dee fans. While it isn't his best work, it is worth a few listens. It's also documents a time in Dee Dee's life when he was struggling with sobriety and struggling to find an identity outside of the Ramones.