Ice Spice: The new supreme

Obdulio Victorio, Staff Writer|March 23, 2023

Ice Spice has become extremely popular in a short period of time.

In August 2022, Ice Spice, a new supreme female rapper, arose from the depths of the Bronx, New York.

Rapper Ice Spice took the internet by storm with the release of her single “Munch (Feelin’ U).” The song was hailed inescapable by music listeners and made Ice Spice an icon almost overnight. She has only gotten more popular and has solidified her spot in the industry as a successful female rapper with chart success and music that’s constantly trending.

On January 1st, 2000, Isis Gaston, better known as Ice Spice, was born. Spice was born in The Bronx to a Nigerian father and Dominican mother. Her father was an underground rapper whom Spice cites as a main supporter and inspiration of her work.

Spice found herself in the headphones of many who don’t consider rap one of their top favorite genres.

“I don’t really listen to rap…her breakout has actually made me start to listen to rap more,” senior Zachary Elson said.

Of course, there are rap fans who have opened up their musical palette to Spice’s music.

“I listen to her music pretty often since she has come onto the scene. She’s very witty and there’s something about her personality that draws me to listen to her music,” senior Mia Romo said.

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I listen to her music pretty often since she has come onto the scene. She’s very witty and there’s something about her personality that draws me to listen to her music.

— Mia Romo

For many, Spice has simply become another person on rotation in their daily music listens.

“I do appreciate and listen to a lot of female rappers such as Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, Flo Milli, and Azealia Banks,” senior Gil Lopez said.

Before finding fame, Spice made her way to SUNY Purchase, a university in Purchase, New York. It was in college where she met her sole producer RIOTUSA. There, Spice played volleyball, worked at Wendy’s and GAP before she dropped out during her sophomore year to pursue her musical career.

Lopez said, “This decision has benefited her a lot. It was a huge risk and it clearly paid off considering how huge she’s become over the past few weeks.”

It wasn’t until almost a year after she started releasing music when Spice began to gain traction in the industry. It seemed that almost overnight “Munch (Feelin’ U” spread throughout the country and took Spice to the top.

The song went viral on social media app TikTok and sparked challenges and lip-sync videos.

“With her blowing up on TikTok I think that it only adds to her fame. It allows her music to be spread which results in more plays,” Elson said.

Spice’s music did not have any chart presence which led many to believe that she was just an online trend who wasn’t going to have any sort of real success. Many believe that she would stay on TikTok and have no real impact on music.

“Tiktok is a great platform for starting out. I don’t think it invalidates her popularity any less,” Lopez said.

“Munch (Feelin’ U)” has garnered over 50 million streams on Spotify and the music video has over 30 million views on YouTube. Since then, Spice has been releasing music that is very well received by the general public.

While she doesn’t make typical pop music or regular-sounding rap music, she plays with her sound and creates a new type of drill sound. Her unique flows and quirky punchlines make her a standout rapper.

“The beats and flows that are used in her music are definitely unique and different from other rap songs you hear on the radio; there isn’t much power behind the beats but she makes up for it by incorporating more melodies, ” Octavio Marin, an independent music producer, said.

The female rap industry has been quiet in recent years. While there is a surplus of female rappers out, none of them appear on the music charts. The main female rapper whom Spice cites as her biggest inspiration is Nicki Minaj. Minaj emerged onto the scene in 2009 and has been the most prominent female rapper since. Other female rappers have gathered moderate success such as Doja Cat, Azealia Banks, Megan Thee Stallion, and Cardi B.

“Compared to other rappers, I can see Ice Spice being toe-to-toe with them as she’s already branding quite nicely with a lot of her dance moves, catchphrases, and even her signature cute curly hair,” Romo stated.

While all of these female rappers have notable careers and large fanbases, there have been no music releases from any of them in about half a year. Spice has taken the world by storm by dropping hit single after single. She has been the only female rapper who was able to make waves with her music in recent months.

With only standalone singles being out, Spice became an incredible phenomenon in the industry. She performed at the Rolling Loud festival with rapper Fivio Foreign in 2022. She also gathered support from other prominent artists such as Drake, who flew her out to Toronto to attend OVO Fest.

In January 2023, Spice announced the arrival of her debut EP titled “Like..?” The title of the project comes from an adlib that Spice incorporates in all of her songs. The EP only contains six songs, three of which had been previously released.

Two of the tracks landed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart including “Gangsta Boo,” a collaboration with rapper Lil TJay, which debuted at No.82. “In Ha Mood” debuted at No.85. The EP was rated a 7.6 out of 10 by the musical website Pitchfork. This is a score that has surpassed full sized albums by many notable rappers such as Drake, Lil Baby, Future, and Nicki Minaj.

Spice also incorporates a good amount of sampling in her music. A notable track that she released in 2021 is “No Clarity” which sampled the 2012 song Zedd track “Clarity.” She also used samples in her other songs such as “Gangsta Boo” and “In Ha Mood.”

“The use of samples adds on to the creativity level. She lures in her audience by sharing a familiar sound, but she adds her own twist on it and it works out great for her,” Marin said.

Recently, Ice Spice and collaborator PinkPantheress released their single “Boy’s A Liar, Pt.2” which debuted at No.14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and has since risen to No.3, marking the first top 10 single for both artists.

Longevity is most definitely a big goal for Spice; she shared in an interview that she would like to have a long lasting career similar to Nicki Minaj. Spice recalls feeling “mesmerized” by Minaj and her everlasting career.

“It most definitely is possible that she [Spice] can get the same amount of success. She hasn’t been in the game for too long but she has already received lots of positive reception and has been constantly proving that she deserves the spot that she’s in,” Marin said. “Her creativity can take her a long way, and if she really hones in on expanding her fanbase and experimenting with sounds more she could be around for a long time.”

Ice Spice has had an organic come-up in the industry in such a small amount of time. With the support of her fans she can only continue to gain popularity and become a true staple in the female rap game.