Isis Naija Gaston was born January 1, 2000, professionally known as Ice Spice, is an American rapper. She grew up in the Bronx, New York City, and began her career in 2021 after meeting record producer RiotUSA.
Ice Spice rose to prominence in late 2022 with her song “Munch (Feelin’ U)”, which achieved viral popularity on TikTok. She followed it up with singles “Bikini Bottom” and “In Ha Mood”, leading up to her debut extended play, Like..? (2023). She achieved her first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart with the Lil Tjay collaboration “Gangsta Boo”. Her remix singles “Princess Diana” (with Nicki Minaj), “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2” (with PinkPantheress), and “Karma” (with Taylor Swift) peaked at numbers four, three and two, respectively, making Ice Spice the artist with the most Hot 100 top-five singles in 2023.
Music journalists have noted Ice Spice’s relaxed rapping style as unique. Publications such as The New York Times and Billboard have dubbed her as “rap’s new princess”. She was described as a “breakout star” by Time.
Influences, She 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. She has also called Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill inspirations because of their “graceful angelic vibe of timeless beauty”.
Talking to Rolling Stone in 2022, Ice Spice recalled: “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…”
Ice Spice started rapping in 2021 after meeting with a record producer, RiotUSA, while they were attending State University of New York at Purchase. 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. Her song “Name of Love” gained traction on SoundCloud, which led to her becoming popular on Instagram. Her song “Munch (Feelin’ U)”, released on August 10, 2022, with a video, and also produced by RiotUSA and distributed by WorldStarHipHop, gained popularity after getting support from Drake, who played the song on his Sirius XM radio station, Sound 42. 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. In September 2022, Ice Spice appeared as a featured artist on the song “One Time” by B-Lovee. Later that month, she signed a record deal with 10K Projects and Capitol Records. On October 28, she released the single “Bikini Bottom”. 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”.
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. 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. In April 2023, she released the remix of “Princess Diana” with Nicki Minaj. 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. 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). 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. “Karma” peaked at number two on the Hot 100, making Ice Spice the artist with the most Hot 100 top-five singles in 2023.