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New York rapper Ice Spice has used the penultimate show of her current touring schedule to share a brief apology for a controversial appearance at an Australian festival last week.
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Ice Spice has spent the new year period in Australia, where she was booked to perform at a couple of festivals, including the Beyond the Valley festival in the state of Victoria, and three legs of the Wildlands Festival in capital cities Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.
The Brisbane edition of Wildlands took place on New Year’s Eve, just one day ahead of Ice Spice’s 25th birthday, and as one of the headliners, the musician was scheduled to perform in the 10:30pm – 11pm slot. While her spot was reportedly brought forward by five minutes, Ice Spice was ultimately 30 minutes late to the stage, and didn’t appear before the crowd until 10:55pm.
Due to the festival’s tight scheduling ahead of the evening’s celebrations, Ice Spice was only able to perform two songs – including “Deli” and “Princess Diana” – before her microphone was cut off during “In Ha Mood”.
“At 11.01pm – they gave her an extra minute – they cut the mic and you heard the collective sigh from the crowd,” journalist and podcaster Brenton Larney told The Guardian. “They’d been waiting for a while and they get two songs?
“So that was a bit ridiculous and it was just really disrespectful how she walked off, she was laughing, they tried to give her flowers for her birthday and she just shrugged them off,” he added, noting that it seemed as though the musician “didn’t want to be there”.
Though initially silent in the aftermath of the festival, organizers later addressed the situation via their Instagram comment section, explaining that Ice Spice’s microphone had to be cut off to ensure the rest of the festival – which included a countdown from U.K. duo Chase & Status – ran to time.
“We understand that Ice Spice’s delayed arrival caused some disappointment,” the festival stated. “Managing a stacked festival means that we have to be extremely firm with set times. We had a strict curfew of 12:30 and need to ensure that the final act went on stage on time, so everyone could enjoy the New Year’s Eve countdown.”
While Ice Spice was herself silent following the event, the musician returned to the stage on Saturday (Jan. 4) to perform at the Perth leg of the festival, where she briefly addressed the situation ahead during her set, as local radio station Youth Jam have reported.
“I’m sorry guys, surely y’all can forgive me,” she was quoted as saying. “It was my birthday and it takes a long time to look like a Barbie.” The statement was ostensibly shared as a brief lead in to her next song, the Nicki Minaj collaboration “Barbie World”.
Ice Spice wrapped up her current touring plans the following day (Jan. 5) with a performance in Adelaide, closing out the global tour in support of her debut album, Y2K!. The record received largely positive reviews from critics and reached No. 18 on the Billboard 200 and No. 3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
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Source: Epic Games / Fortnite / Eminem / Snoop Dogg / Ice Spice
Fortnite is rewinding the clock again and incorporating music into the process. Epic Games is kicking off a new period in its popular battle royale mode called Chapter 2 Remix, and some major star power will be involved.
To help launch Chapter 2 Remix, Hip-Hop icon Snoop Dogg and Ice Spice performed virtually and in person during an event in Times Square, New York. They will also be major players in the remix of Chapter 2.
The new season calls back to Chapter 2, bringing back gameplay elements, characters, and locations from Fortnite’s second chapter, which first launched in 2019.
Epic says Chapter 2 Remix will last a month and change things weekly, so it will never grow stale during the season. It will feature themed elements around the music artists involved.
Snoop Dogg will get things cracking first, with Eminem following, Ice Spice, and closing things out will be the late Juice WRLD.
Chapter 2 Remix is live in Fortnite and will run until November 30. Epic also teases that things will close with a “finale.” Of course, it wouldn’t be a new season of Fortnite without new cosmetics to outfit your character.
Here is a breakdown per Epic Games:
In addition to Kicks, the Remix Pass comes to Fortnite packed with over 70 new in-game rewards! A shorter Battle Pass than usual, you can unlock all the Pass’ rewards in just four weeks. Grab the Remix Pass for 950 V-Bucks (or included as part of your Fortnite Crew subscription) and earn up to 1,000 V-Bucks by progressing it!
Level up the Remix Pass by earning XP across Fortnite Battle Royale, creator-made islands, LEGO® Fortnite, Rocket Racing, and Fortnite Festival. Here are the nostalgically new Outfits in the Pass:
Chaos Director (unlocked right away!): Chaos reigns.
1-Ball: Sink all the right shots.
Undercover Skye: She’s got the Guff stuff.
Meowdas: One classy cat.
Dynamo TNTina: Strike a match and light the fuse.
So what are you waiting for? Boot up Fortnite, and drop it like it’s hot in Chapter 2 Remix. To learn more about it, head here.
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Azealia Banks may have unfairly garnered the disdain of music fans due to her outspoken nature but when she speaks, the world listens intently to the gems she drops when she speaks on social media. Amid the Cleotrapa and Ice Spice beef, Azealia Banks opened up a show slot on Halloween and has chosen a side.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Azealia Banks defended Cleotrapa and took swipes at Ice Spice and her manager, James Rosemond Jr. With Rosemond accusing the “Von Dutch” rapper of clout chasing by raising issues with Ice Spice over alleged mistreatment while serving as her tour support, Banks held nothing back in a series of replies on X that hit their intended marks.
At first, it appeared that Banks fired a shot at either Baby Storme, who is also in the beef mix, or Cleotrapa by writing, “Welp. Baby toad…. looks like I gotta hand this one to ya. . . You got it sis.”
The X reply sparked a flurry of angry responses from fans defending Storme and Cleo, with some attempting to slam the trajectory and status of Banks’ career. She immediately made it clear she was on Cleotrapa’s side in a following reply, never addressing the fans who tried to ridicule her.
“I was super into the lil’ orphan Annie vibes + her being the only female rapper without a wig/weave. But it is all Hella low budget, the y2k aesthetic was amiss plus I absolutely adore Cleo…….. oh well poor dat,” Banks wrote.
To further stamp her support, Banks shared that she’s set to host a show next month on Halloween in New York.
“I don’t like how everyone is trying to make cleotrapa look. Any f*cking who @iamcleotrapa will be performing with me on Halloween Oct 31. at @Terminal5NYC. She will – be paid, have her own space to glam, whatever she wants on her rider.. because i have f*cking respect & class,” Banks wrote.
With fans of Ice Spice, Clepotrapa, and Azealia Banks invested in all the chatter, we were able to grab some replies from the X platform to share in the gallery below.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: Theo Wargo / Getty
Ice Spice is once again having to defend her name. Cleotrapa claims she was poorly treated on the Y2K tour.
The Bronx, New York native was dragged online this week by her former friend Cleotrapa. In a series of videos, the “Rockstar” performer detailed how she was invited to open up for Ice Spice and was promised certain accommodations that allegedly never were honored. Her grievances included having to carry her own bags and not being looked after by Ice Spice’s security.
Cleotrapa says she spoke to the “Give Me A Light” rapper about the inconveniences and was soon barred from entering Ice’s dressing room. “This girl was really mad at me for saying something about that luggage,” she said. “She don’t want nobody to say nothing to her. She tried to lowkey torture me.”
As expected the rant quickly went viral to which Ice Spice responded on X, formerly Twitter, spaces. “Crashing out is sad, you guys,” she said. “The scary part of fame, honestly, is the moment that somebody feels like they can no longer use your platform or they’re not getting exactly what they want out of a situation the way that they want it. That’s when they decide to crash out every single time. I’m noticing a pattern.”
Ice went on to reveal that she was actually looking out for Cleo. “What had actually happened is that we added another tour bus so I was like, ‘Now we have extra room, we have extra bunks.’ So I was like, ‘Oh, let me see if Cleo wants to come so she can do her songs.’ But that’s what the f*ck I get for trying to be a good person.”
Ironically she has also taken a huge loss with her social media following. According statistics platform Social Blade Ice Spice has lost over half a million followers on Instagram within the last week. As expected Xitter was here for all the tea and took the opportunity to roast her. You can find some of their best responses below.
When Nico Baran was 10, he discovered the popular digital audio workstation FL Studio during a class presentation and started making dance tracks. “That helped me build up my skills for making loops,” says Baran, who soon transitioned to R&B and trap productions.
Seven years later, in 2020, the Houston-born, Madrid-based producer started DM’ing loops to members of the producer collective and record label Internet Money. One member, oktanner, played the beats for CEO Taz Taylor, who brought Baran onto the team that year. Taylor asked Baran to send him ideas ahead of his session with The Kid LAROI, which led to Baran scoring his first major placement on LAROI’s debut mixtape, F*ck Love, co-writing and co-producing “Tragic” featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again.
He has since compiled a genre-spanning résumé — and an impressive original loop library, which he often shares as sounds on TikTok — producing songs for rappers like Lil Tecca, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Shy Glizzy, as well as Latin artists like Bad Bunny with Young Miko, Eladio Carrión and Fuerza Regida. In June, when Baran posted a now-viral snippet titled “Love Is Gone” — a moody instrumental that has since amassed 1.8 million TikTok plays and 4.3 million official on-demand global streams, according to Luminate — Drake caught wind of the hype. “He reached out to me through Instagram,” Baran says. “I’m still sending him stuff to this day.”
Trending on Billboard
Wallace Joseph, SVP of A&R at Warner Chappell Music, calls the producer a “genius,” saying his talent is “purely natural. What he’s doing is next level; whether he’s playing keyboards, producing, or anything else, everything he touches goes viral.”
Ahead, Baran is hoping to make time for his own music as well, saying he “definitely” wants to release an album of his own — “kind of like Metro Boomin and DJ Khaled,” he says, “where I can bring artists into my own sound.”
¥$ (with Lil Wayne), “Lifestyle”
Last November, Baran wrote, “POV: Ty Dolla $ign & Kanye need beats for their next album,” over a TikTok featuring one of his loops. In December, when Ye previewed “Lifestyle” during an Instagram Live filmed at a private Las Vegas party teasing Vultures 2 (despite Vultures 1 not having dropped), Baran noticed a familiar beat: The song sampled “Love Is Gone.” As Baran recalls, “People were sending me screen recordings through Instagram like, ‘Kanye sampled you!’ ” One of the song’s producers, Australian duo FNZ, had sent Ty “Love Is Gone.” Baran says, “He liked it a lot. He showed it to Kanye, and Kanye loved it. It still feels unbelievable.”
Ice Spice & Central Cee, “Did It First”
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In 2023, songwriter-producer Lily Kaplan sent Baran a Dropbox link and asked him to tinker with her vocal tracks. He built a loop around one of them by chopping up the line “Baby, do you understand?” and adding synths before sending it to RIOTUSA, Ice Spice’s go-to producer. RIOT ultimately used it for Ice and Central Cee’s “Did It First,” one of the buzzier singles from her debut album, Y2K!, that dropped in July. “Ice Spice really loved that one loop, and it kind of went crazy,” says Baran of the track, which hit No. 10 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
The Kid LAROI, TBA
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Four years after “Tragic,” one of LAROI’s producers reached out to Baran about sampling a loop that he had posted on TikTok to use on a track from the Australian artist’s forthcoming second album. (His debut, The First Time, arrived last November.) “That’s mainly what I’m focusing on right now,” Baran reveals. “I’m sending a lot of ideas to LAROI’s producers. Aside from that one song, hopefully more [will] come about.”
A version of this article originally appeared in the August 31, 2024 issue of Billboard.
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Source: Paras Griffin / Getty / Uncle Luke
Uncle Luke feels like the ladies burning up the Hip-Hop charts owe him money because of his Supreme Court victory.
For those who don’t know, Luther Campbell, aka Uncle Luke of 2 Live Crew fame, took the fight to create raunchy rap music to the Supreme Court in the 90s, and he won.
Now, Campbell feels all the ladies in Hip-Hop currently churning out hits owe him some money because he feels it’s because of him that they can rap about suggestive themes and do the things they like to do on stage.
On Monday, Campbell hopped on Instagram Live to give a backhanded compliment to the ladies of Hip-Hop by pointing out they are running the genre while the men are slacking. At the same time, he demanded rappers like Megan Thee Stallion, Ice Spice, and Sexxy Red send him money.
“Male rap is on some bulls**t right now,” Campbell said during the Instagram Live. “I’m sorry. The females are winning. They’re doing everything that I did. I’m still waiting for these girls to send me a f**king check.”
“I need a check from Ice Spice, who turns her a** around and drops it like it’s hot,” Uncle Luke said. “I need a check from Sexyy Red — nah, Red [is] my friend… All the f**king girls, Megan Thee Stallion. Anybody that’s running around shaking their a**es, talking about p**sy and d**k on the record, y’all need to send me a check.”
He followed that up by saying they don’t need to give money, but they do have to pay him his respect, adding that Sexxy Red already gave him his props. “The girls don’t need to give me a check. They need to pay respect. The only one who has is sexy Red. That’s my girl,” he wrote on X.
Users On X Disagree With Uncle Luke
None of the women he has mentioned have responded to him, and understandably so because they are quite busy. Each of them is coming off or currently on a tour and promoting new music.
Fans are stepping up to the plate for them, calling out Uncle Luke for his comments.
“He wants y’all to forget he was on here takin shots at Janelle Monae for showing a nipple. It’s like he loses sleep when he sees BW owning their sexual agency,” one person X, formerly Twitter, wrote.
We can’t argue with that.
You can see more reactions to Uncle Luke’s strange comments in the gallery below.
1. Very true
3. Exactly
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Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz
Barbz beware…Nicki Minaj is releasing a deluxe edition of her fifth studio album Pink Friday 2. The album, released in December 2023, was Minaj’s first full-length album in five years.
The album is sample-heavy “Barbie Dangerous” interpolates Notorious B.I.G.’s “Notorious Thugs,” while “Pink Friday Girls” samples Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and “Super Freaky Girl” samples Rick James’ “Super Freak,” according to HypeBeast.
There is no official release date for the new album, but that is not stopping the Barbz from making noise online.
Meanwhile, Nicki also announced that she is headed back out on tour. The Pink Friday 2 World Tour: Gag City Reloaded will kick off on September 4 in Philadelphia and close on October 11 in Nicki’s hometown of Queens, NY.
August 21st was a busy day for Nicki who also went on a rant throwing shots at who, some believe, were Ice Spice and JT. She also unfollowed both of them on Instagram.
“Don’t ask me about nobody,” she said in the voice message. “If you don’t see someone around me, don’t ask me about them. Go and talk to them,” she added. “The truth of the matter is that y’all don’t want to know the truth of the matter.”
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Source: Theo Wargo / Getty
A few weeks ago Ice Spice fans began speculating that the Bronx rapper might’ve become the latest celebrity to hop on the Ozempic craze as he physical frame seemingly shrunk right before everyone’s eyes, but the “Deli” rapper is now pushing back against the allegations as they seem to have struck a cord with her.
This past Monday (Aug. 19), Ice Spice took to X Spaces to touch on the topic of her recent weight loss and seemed pretty annoyed that everyone assumed she was using the weight loss drug that is responsible for some of your favorite celebrities seeming leaner these days.
With everyone listening in on what she had to say, a audibly frustrated Ice Spice went right into the subject saying ““I actually came on here to talk about that real quick. I wish y’all never learned the word Ozempic. That’s one thing I wish. Oh my God! Like, what even is Ozempic? What the f*ck is that? Genuinely, what is that?”
Though we’re lowkey surprised she never heard of the popular prescription weight loss drug, Ice Spice credits her own personal lifestyle change for shedding pounds off her body saying “You lazy-a** b*tches never heard of a gym?” she asked. Continuing on she explained “It’s called the gym, it’s called eating healthy, it’s called being on tour. Like, what the hell? Maybe if I was sitting at home all f*cking day, it’d be easier to stay big.”
Yeah, Ice Spice doesn’t like being accused of cutting corners when it comes to getting into shape and we ain’t mad at that. When someone goes hard when working on body and become a better version of themselves, accusing them of taking the easy way out isn’t going to sit to well with them.
Still, we lowkey miss the thick as mofongo Ice Spice who could fill out a pair of sweat pants with no problem. Just sayin.’
What do y’all think? Is Ice Spice telling the truth about her recent physical downsizing or is she capping? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Source: Mario Skraban / Getty
The weight loss drug Ozempic has been all the rage in 2024 with everyday people and celebrities hopping on the medication to help them drop some unwanted pounds. Now, it seems like Ice Spice might’ve got in on the trend as fans are noticing the famously thick as molasses rapper is looking a bit more lean these days.
According to Page Six (so keep that top of mind), fans have begun to murmur that Ice Spice is disappearing before their very eyes and not because her popularity is waning, but because her waist line is, and that’s leaving some of her day-one fans a bit worried. Earlier this week, the bombshell from the Bronx posted a few pics of herself on her official Instagram page and fans were quick to notice a decline in her former thicker frame and immediately began to speculate that the “Deli” rapper was probably poppin’ Ozempic into her physical.
While the backside was still pretty much there in all it’s glory, her waistline seemingly vanished, and that led to many fans taking to the comments to let their feelings be known.
Per Page Six:
Fans took to her Instagram comments to share their opinions about her drastic weight loss — even attributing it to Hollywood’s favorite weight loss drug, Ozempic.
“Stop using ozempic,” wrote one user.
“girl … you are disappearing … where all your weight went,” asked a second person.
“Somebody said the ICE IS MELTING ,” quipped a third.
“Ok ozempic ,” commented a fourth user.
When another fan said Ice — born Isis Gaston — was “sooo skinny,” another user replied, “its ozempic.”
Page Six has reached out to Ice’s reps for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Truth be told, she’s still pretty thick from the waist down, and we think she still looks good. But hey, that’s just us. Check out Ice Spice’s pics below, and let us know your thoughts on the situation.
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Source: Ethan Miller / Getty / Ice Spice
Taylor Swift has a loyal bff in Ice Spice.
Spotted on TMZ Hip Hop, Ice Spice responded perfectly to fans in the crowd who expressed their disdain for Hip-Hop Annie’s new buddy Taylor Swift during a recent “performance” at Rolling Loud across the pond.
The “Think U The Sh*t (Fart)” crafter had to let fans know that she will always be down with Taylor Swift after fans were not pleased to hear the mega-popular pop star’s voice when the rapper played “Karma,” the single they collaborated on on.
To close out her set, Ice Spice played Taylor Swift singing the song and was met with boos and thumbs down from fans in the crowd.
In response, the “Munch” rapper blew a kiss to unhappy fans before walking off the stage, letting them know it’s all love, but she is riding for TS.
The unlikely duo quickly became besties following the release of the collaborative effort, which earned them both a Best Pop Duo Grammy nomination.
Taylor Swift even brought out Ice Spice to perform the record during her “Eras” tour stop in New Jersey, where Swifties’ greetings were much warmer than at the fan reception in Austria.
Ice Spice even joined Swift in a booth at Super Bowl LVIII to help her cheer on the Kansas City Chiefs and her boyfriend, All-Pro tight end and Champion Travis Kelce.
Seemingly unbothered by the fan’s cold reception to Taylor Swift at the Hip-Hop music festival, the Bronx rapper was later spotted hanging out with UK rapper Central Cee, further sparking dating rumors between the two.
We are sure the Swifties and Taylor Swift are happy to see they have a staunch ally in Ice Spice.