Ice Spice facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ice Spice
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Ice Spice in 2024
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| Birth name | Isis Naija Gaston |
| Born | January 1, 2000 The Bronx, New York City, U.S. |
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| Years active | 2020–present |
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Isis Naija Gaston (born January 1, 2000), known as Ice Spice, is a popular American rapper. She grew up in the Bronx, New York City. Ice Spice started her music journey in college in 2020 after meeting producer RiotUSA. Music experts often call her a "breakout star" because of her unique rapping style.
Ice Spice became very well-known in late 2022 with her song "Munch (Feelin' U)". This song became super popular on TikTok. After signing with 10K Projects and Capitol Records, she released more songs like "Bikini Bottom" and "In Ha Mood". These songs helped promote her first music collection, called an extended play (EP), titled Like..? (2023).
Her EP Like..? included the song "Princess Diana" with Nicki Minaj. This song reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which lists the most popular songs in the U.S. The EP itself reached number 15 on the Billboard 200 chart, which lists popular albums. Ice Spice had even more success in 2023 with other popular songs. These included "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2" with PinkPantheress, "Karma" with Taylor Swift, and "Barbie World" with Nicki Minaj and Aqua. All of these songs also reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.
Ice Spice has won several awards, including the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist. She also received the "New Artist of the Year" award at the People's Choice Awards. She has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist.
Contents
Early Life and Growing Up
Isis Naija Gaston was born on January 1, 2000, in the Bronx, New York City. She grew up in the Fordham Road area and is the oldest of five children. Her father, Joseph Gaston, used to be an underground rapper and is African-American. Her mother, Charina Almanzar, is Dominican. Her parents divorced when Ice Spice was two years old.
Because her parents worked a lot, Ice Spice spent much of her childhood with her grandparents and cousins. She went to school in the Bronx before attending Sacred Heart High School, a Catholic school in Yonkers. When she was seven, she started loving hip hop after listening to artists like Lil' Kim and Nicki Minaj. She began writing poetry and freestyle raps from elementary school through high school.
Ice Spice shared in an interview that she grew up listening to rappers like Jay-Z, 50 Cent, and Wu-Tang Clan. This was because of her father's love for rap music. She would write lyrics on her iPhone and rap along to hip-hop beats. She picked her stage name, Ice Spice, when she was a freshman in high school.
Ice Spice finished high school in 2018. She then went to State University of New York at Purchase to study biology. She also played as a defensive specialist on the school's volleyball team. However, she later left college, feeling it wasn't the right place for her. Before becoming famous, she worked as a cashier at places like Wendy's and The Gap.
Music Career
Starting Out (2020–2022)
Ice Spice began rapping in 2020 after meeting music producer RiotUSA. He produced her first song, "Bully Freestyle," which came out in March 2021. This happened after a video of her doing a popular challenge went viral online. Her song "Name of Love" also became popular on SoundCloud, which helped her gain followers on Instagram.
On August 10, 2022, Ice Spice released her song "Munch (Feelin' U)". A music video for the song was also released. The song became very popular after rapper Drake played it on his radio station. It quickly went viral on Twitter and TikTok. The song also appeared on Billboard charts like the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Bubbling Under Hot 100 charts. In September 2022, Ice Spice was featured on a song called "One Time" by B-Lovee. Later that month, she signed a record deal with 10K Projects and Capitol Records. She then released another song, "Bikini Bottom," on October 28.
Big Success with Like..? (2023–Present)
Ice Spice's first EP, Like..?, was released on January 20, 2023. It included her earlier hits like "Munch (Feelin' U)", "Bikini Bottom", and "In Ha Mood". In February 2023, Ice Spice worked with Lil Tjay on a song called "Gangsta Boo." This song was a tribute to the late rapper Gangsta Boo. It became her first song to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching number 82.
On February 3, 2023, a new version of PinkPantheress's song, "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2," was released. It featured Ice Spice and came with a music video. This song became a huge hit, reaching number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was the highest chart position for both artists at that time. In April 2023, she released a remix of her song "Princess Diana" with Nicki Minaj. This song reached number four on the Hot 100.
On May 24, 2023, it was announced that Ice Spice would be featured on a remix of Taylor Swift's song "Karma." The remix was released on May 26, 2023, as a bonus track on Swift's album, Midnights. A music video for the remix, featuring both artists, came out on May 27. Many people called 2023 Ice Spice's breakout year. "Karma" reached number two on the Hot 100. On June 26, she released "Barbie World" with Nicki Minaj, which debuted at number 7 on the Hot 100. A special version of Like..?, with five new songs, was released on July 21, 2023.
On November 14, 2023, she hinted at a new project called Y2K!, which was planned for 2024. Y2K! was released on July 26, 2024. On August 1, 2024, Ice Spice added a bonus track to the album called "GYAT."
On November 1, 2024, Ice Spice and Snoop Dogg performed in Times Square to promote a new season in the video game Fortnite. Outfits and items based on Ice Spice became available to buy in the game.
Artistry
Musical Style
Ice Spice's music is mainly Bronx drill, a type of hip hop music. She chose her stage name from a fake Instagram account she made when she was 14. She writes all of her own lyrics. She has said that she likes her lyrics to be "super simple" and easy to understand.
Influences
Ice Spice was first inspired to start rapping by Sheff G and Pop Smoke. She has also named Lil' Kim, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Foxy Brown, and Remy Ma as musical influences. She looks up to them because they are all from New York. She has also mentioned Erykah Badu, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and Lauryn Hill as inspirations for their "graceful angelic vibe of timeless beauty."
Discography
- Y2K! (2024)
Tours
Headlining
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- Y2K! World Tour (2024)
Supporting
- Doja Cat – The Scarlet Tour (2023)
Awards and Nominations
Ice Spice has received many awards and nominations for her music.
- She won the Best Breakthrough Hip-Hop Artist at the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2023.
- She also won the Hitmaker Award at the Billboard Women in Music event in 2024.
- In 2023, she received the Impact Award at the BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards.
- At the MTV Video Music Awards in 2023, she won Best New Artist.
- The People's Choice Awards in 2023 honored her as The New Artist of the Year and gave her The Collaboration Song of the Year for "Barbie World" with Nicki Minaj and Aqua.
- She won Favourite Music Collaboration at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in 2024 for "Barbie World".
- She has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist.
