Ice Spice

Isis Naija Gaston (born January 1, 2000), known professionally as Ice Spice, is an American rapper. Born and raised in the Bronx in New York City, she embarked on her musical career in 2021 after meeting American record producer RiotUSA.

For other uses, see Ice Spice (disambiguation).

Ice Spice
Ice Spice in 2022
Ice Spice in 2022
Background information
Birth nameIsis Naija Gaston[1]
Born (2000-01-01) January 1, 2000
New York City, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
Years active2021–present
Labels
Websiteicespicemusic.com

Ice Spice first gained major recognition in late 2022 with her song "Munch (Feelin' U)", which achieved viral popularity on TikTok. She followed it with "Bikini Bottom" and "In Ha Mood", leading up to her debut EP, Like..? (2023). She achieved her first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart with the Lil Tjay collaboration "Gangsta Boo". She rose to prominence with the collaborations "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2" (with PinkPantheress), "Princess Diana" (with Nicki Minaj), "Karma" (with Taylor Swift), and "Barbie World" (with Minaj and Aqua), all of which reached the top 10 of the Hot 100, making Ice Spice the first artist to garner four Hot 100 top-10 singles in 2023.

Music journalists have noted Ice Spice's relaxed rapping style. In 2023, Time described her as a "breakout star".[3] Publications such as The New York Times and Billboard have dubbed her "rap's new princess".[4] She has been honored with the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist, and the Impact Award from the BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards.[5]

Early life and education

Isis Naija Gaston was born on January 1, 2000, in the Bronx, New York City,[6][7][8] where she was raised in the Fordham Road neighborhood. She is the oldest of five siblings.[9] Her father, Joseph Gaston, who was a former underground rapper, is African-American, while her mother, Charina Almanzar, who worked at a car dealership and gave birth to Gaston at age 17, is Dominican.[10] The two first met at a McDonald's[11] and divorced when Gaston was two years old.[12][13][14][9]

Because her parents were frequently busy working, she spent much of her childhood with her grandparents and cousins.[9] She went to school in the Bronx until she was sent to Sacred Heart High School,[15] a Catholic high school in Yonkers.[14] At age seven, she took a liking to hip hop after listening to rappers like Lil' Kim, Nicki Minaj, and others and wrote poetry and freestyle raps from elementary school to high school. In an interview with Billboard, Ice explained that she grew up listening to the likes of Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Wu-Tang Clan because of her father's rap background.[4] She would type out lyrics in the Notes app of her iPhone, listening to hip-hop instrumentals and rapping out loud to them.[16][17][13] "When I saw Nicki [Minaj], I was so mesmerized," Ice Spice explained. "She's the first female rapper that I seen. And ever since then, I was kinda set on what I wanted to be." She chose Ice Spice as her stage name while she was a freshman in high school.[16]

Ice Spice graduated from Sacred Heart High in 2018 and attended State University of New York at Purchase, where she was a defensive specialist on the school's volleyball team and studied biology.[16][18][19][20] In seven matches, she had two kills and nine digs in the 2018 season.[20]

Around her sophomore year, Ice Spice dropped out of SUNY Purchase, explaining that she did not believe the school was the right fit for her and attributing her "strenuous commute" for leaving college.[16]

As the eldest sister of her four siblings, Ice Spice was their de facto protector.[18] She supported herself as a cashier at Wendy's and The Gap.[16]

Career

2021–2022: Career beginnings

Ice Spice started rapping in 2021 after meeting with a record producer, RiotUSA, while she was attending State University of New York at Purchase.[21] He produced her debut song, "Bully Freestyle", released in March 2021 after a video of Ice Spice doing the "Buss It" challenge went viral on Twitter.[11] Her song "Name of Love" gained traction on SoundCloud, which led to her becoming popular on Instagram.[22]

2022–present: Breakthrough with Like…?

On August 10, 2022, Ice Spice released her song "Munch (Feelin' U)", accompanied with a video distributed by WorldStarHipHop,[23] as the lead single from her then-untitled debut EP, Like..?. The song gained popularity after getting support from Drake, who played the song on his Sirius XM radio station, Sound 42.[12] It subsequently went viral on Twitter and TikTok, and charted on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Bubbling Under Hot 100 charts.[24][25][13] In September 2022, Ice Spice appeared as a featured artist on the song "One Time" by B-Lovee.[26] Later that month, she signed a record deal with 10K Projects and Capitol Records.[27] On October 28, she released the single "Bikini Bottom".[28] Ice Spice's debut EP, Like..?, was released on January 20, 2023, and included the singles "Munch (Feelin' U)", "Bikini Bottom", and "In Ha Mood".[29]

Ice Spice performing
Ice Spice performing in 2022

In February 2023, Ice Spice collaborated with Lil Tjay on the tribute single "Gangsta Boo" to the late rapper of the same name, which became her first song on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 82.[30] On February 3, 2023, the remix of singer PinkPantheress's song, "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2" featuring Ice Spice and the corresponding music video were released. The song peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, the highest charting position for either artist at the time.[31] In April 2023, she released the remix of "Princess Diana" with Nicki Minaj.[32] The song peaked at number four on the Hot 100, earning Ice Spice her second top-ten hit on the chart and the twenty second top-ten hit for Minaj.[33] On May 24, 2023, a remix of Taylor Swift's "Karma" featuring Ice Spice, was announced for release on May 26, 2023. The remix is a bonus track on the special editions of Swift's tenth studio album, Midnights (2022).[34] A music video for the remix, featuring Swift and Ice Spice, was released on May 27. Pitchfork described 2023 as the breakout year of Ice Spice.[35] "Karma" peaked at number two on the Hot 100, making Ice Spice the artist with the most Hot 100 top-five singles in 2023.[36] The deluxe version of Like..?, featuring five new tracks, was released on July 21, 2023.[37]

Artistry

Musical and lyrical style

Ice Spice's music is primarily Bronx drill.[38][39] Her name came from a "finsta" (fake Instagram account) she made at age 14.[40] She has said she writes all her own lyrics,[9] though she does not consider herself as a lyricist.[41] She explained that she prefers her lyrics to be "super simple" and "digestible".[41]

Influences

In a 2022 feature for Rolling Stone titled "My Life in 10 Songs", Ice Spice cited Coldplay's "Yellow" and the 1975's "Sex": "When I was 13 or 14, I was playing [The 1975] all the time. It was my shit, I think it's because they're from Europe and he [Matty Healy] has that accent. It was a thing for me."[42]

Ice Spice was first inspired to start rapping by Sheff G and Pop Smoke, and has listed Lil' Kim, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Foxy Brown, and Remy Ma as musical influences due to their New York roots.[14][12][9] She has also called Erykah Badu, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and Lauryn Hill inspirations because of their "graceful angelic vibe of timeless beauty".[13]

Personal life

Ice Spice is bisexual.[43] She relocated to New Jersey following her career breakthrough, as she found that she had become too recognizable in her hometown of the Bronx.[44]

Discography
Main article: Ice Spice discography

Extended plays

Tours

Supporting

Awards and nominations
Award Year Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
All-Rap Caviar 2023 Rookie of The Year Herself Nominated [46]
Second Team Honoured
BET Awards 2023 Best Female Hip Hop Artist Herself Nominated [47]
Best New Artist Nominated
Best Collaboration "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2" (with PinkPantheress) Nominated
BET Her Nominated
BET Hip-Hop Awards 2023 Best Collaboration "Princess Diana" (with Nicki Minaj) Nominated [48]
Best Breakthrough Hip-Hop Artist Herself Won
Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players 2023 Rookie of The Year Herself Won [49]
BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards 2023 Impact Award Herself Won [50]
MTV Europe Music Awards 2023 Best Collaboration "Boy's a Liar Pt.2" (with PinkPantheress) Pending [51]
Best New Herself Pending
Best Push Herself Pending
MTV Video Music Awards 2023 Best New Artist Herself Won [52]
Best Push Performance "Princess Diana" Nominated
Song of Summer "Barbie World" (with Nicki Minaj and Aqua) Nominated [53]
"Karma" (with Taylor Swift) Nominated
Streamy Awards 2023 Sound of the Year "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2" (with PinkPantheress) Nominated [54]
"In Ha Mood" Nominated

References
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