Bronx-made rapper Ice Spice makes music for bad bitches.
“Anybody can be a bad bitch, it’s more like a mentality,” she explains. “Somebody who’s very confident with themselves and knows what they want.”
The soft-spoken artist learned her bad bitch-isms by way of her Dominican mother, who turned heads from the time Ice Spice was a child. “My mom’s a bad bitch and she raised me to be just like her,” she explains. “You already know Latina girls have that sass. I remember she would always have her nails done so that trickled down to me. She was just always looking so good. I was that kid in the class who had the good-looking mom.”
While we have yet to receive a mom reveal, Mama Spice’s confident air is evident in her daughter’s cool rhymes, with Ice Spice declaring matter-of-factly on her breakout hit “Munch (Feelin’ U),” “He want my body, he telling me “please”/ I’m walking past him, he sniffin’ my breeze.”
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And her confidence is proving to be with reason. In just two months, the rising rapper, born Isis Gaston, catapulted into mainstream fame thanks to her viral drill anthem, and she has no plans of leaving the spotlight. “I realized virality is really based on the person,” she says. “When you’re a viral type of person, you’re gonna always go viral.”
From TikTok videos of girls screaming the lyrics in the car transforming into viral sounds of their own, to cultural adaptations of Ice Spice’s already iconic, “You thought I was feeling you?” line, the song quickly became inescapable on social media, amassing 2.4 billion views and over 500,000 creations. Although she believed in the song from the time of its genesis, Ice Spice says the success of “Munch” exceeded all expectations. “I figured it was gonna be a pretty big song, but I didn’t realize how big it was gonna be,” she says. “It’s funny — because people I showed the song to wasn’t too excited about it. But I’m confident in it. So I was just like, ‘My fans gon’ f–k with it, I don’t care.’”
To no surprise, the TikTok success translated to streams and to the charts, with “Munch” accumulating 34 million global streams, and landing spots on the Billboard Rhythmic Airplay, Bubbling Under Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.
The burgeoning rapper is wasting no time, already teasing her next single, “Bikini Bottom,” which she recorded a week before her Billboard interview. “It kind of gives a SpongeBob vibe, I was having fun with that one,” she says. “I was addressing a couple of things that’s been going on, you’ll hear it more in the second verse.”
Fans and critics have had their fair share of jokes about Ice Spice, from her “Annie” curls to lyrics that can only come straight from the Bronx. But she’s laughing along with them, because whether or not she “raps in ‘duh,’” as a popular TikToker joked, fans are eating up everything Ice Spice is dishing out.
Billboard spoke with October’s R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month Ice Spice about performing for the first time, her Dominican roots, meeting Cardi B, the artists who inspire her and more.
Did you anticipate “Munch” becoming this huge breakout hit?
Honestly I didn’t know that it was going to be such a big hit, but I’m so grateful. I made the song in January. When I put out the Triller tease back in June, it started picking up momentum. I figured it was gonna be a pretty big song, but I didn’t realize how big it was gonna be.
Upon making “Munch,” were you super eager to put it out?
I wasn’t eager at all. Sometimes you get over a song, and that’s what happened with “Munch.” When I first made it, I loved it. But then months went by and I kind of just forgot about it. It was something I was gonna keep in the tuck for a little while. I knew I wanted to put it out, but it felt more like a summertime vibe.
Is “Munch” like a thing people say?
I thought I came up with it, but I recently found out through an older lady “carpet muncher” used to be a popular [derogatory] saying. She told me and I was like, “Wow, I didn’t even know that.”
What was the vibe like during the making of the song?
I was in my room with my producer, I wasn’t with a bunch of people. I like to record alone. A lot of people like to have parties in their studio sessions, but I like to focus in to get the song done. It was just us two and we was trying to challenge ourselves to see how quickly we could get the song done. So I wasn’t thinking too much. That’s one thing about “Munch.” I was getting line by line out and just having fun.
How long did it take to finish it?
Probably two hours.
A lot of female rappers have put their own spin on “Munch” and uploaded videos to social media. How does it feel knowing so many artists are feeling the song?
Everybody’s been putting out their remixes and I’m just like, “Wow.” Kali [Uchis] put out her remix, basically every [female] artist in New York put out a remix to it. Then when [Cardi B] put hers out, I feel like that was the cherry on top.
Have you talked to Cardi since?
I haven’t had a one-on-one long sit down conversation where she gives me advice, but I have really briefly said “hey.” Today’s her birthday, I’m probably going to see her at her party later. I’d love to work with her. That’s my big Bronx sis.
Are there any NY artists you go to for advice?
I go to [Lil] Tjay for like, not advice, but just to relate with certain things. We like to chat a lot. [He] actually goes through similar situations. It helps a lot to be able to talk to somebody and just vent and for them to be like, “This is what I did when that happened to me.” And learning from their mistakes, too.
What was your path to music like?
What’s funny is my mom sent me a video the other day – and I don’t even remember this of course, because I was like four. But I’m singing in the video. And I’ve never seen this video my whole life, I was shocked by that. So I was singing since [age] four, but I didn’t actually take music seriously until I was older. I was writing poems and little freestyle raps in my notes throughout all of elementary and high school. Once I got to college, I went viral on Twitter for the “Buss It” challenge. So then I was like, “Nah, I gotta take it seriously,” and I started putting out music.
Did you always go by Ice Spice?
Yeah, my name is Isis, so my nickname always been Ice my whole life. And the spice came from Instagram, I was just trying to come up with a username when I was like, 14.
You recently did two festivals, what was that like for you?
It was very fun. [Rolling Loud NY] was a little messier, but it still worked out. They showed mad love. I can’t wait for the next Rolling Loud. I never had a soundcheck for none of my performances, they just throw you out there. Everybody thinks that like you go in all prepared and s–t with your own mic, but you don’t get that until you’re like G.O.A.T. level.
My first performance ever was back in May at a college in New Jersey. That was lit, the crowd was actually pretty big. It’s hard to perform. Practice makes perfect for real. I’m sure in a year from now, my performance is going to look drastically different. I can’t wait to pop out and prove everybody wrong that’s been talking a lot of s–t.
You’ve been teasing a new song “Bikini Bottom” on socials. Tell us about that.
It’s called “Bikini Bottom” because it kind of gives a SpongeBob vibe. I was just having fun with that one. I was addressing a couple of things that’s been going on, you’ll hear it more in the second verse. But I feel like it’s a good follow up after “Munch.” I made it last week.
Why do you think there aren’t more women getting mainstream looks in the drill space?
I don’t know, honestly. I feel like there are a lot of girls coming up in the drill space and rap in general. Right now feels like the time for the ladies. Drill is such a new sub-genre that I feel like it just needs time for more girls to enter.
Are there any women artists whose careers you look up to?
I’m inspired by Nicki, Lil Kim, Cardi B. All of the greats. I’m definitely inspired by Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu. But I definitely want to like have my own lane. Where like, it’s just it’s mine. And not like really copying somebody. With Nicki, Cardi and Kim, it’s them being from New York of course. That New York swag and aggression and bad bitchness. [Laughs.] When it comes to Lauryn and Erykah, they give a graceful angelic vibe of timeless beauty. All of them are icons.
You mentioned you’re half Dominican. Are we getting that dembow collaboration anytime soon?
Oh my gosh. Yes. You know what? I’ve actually been talking to a lot of Latin artists and I’m figuring it out. And I got this Spanish type of beat that I’ve been plotting on. I’m probably gonna lay that down soon.
What piece of advice would you give aspiring artists?
I feel like being independent is super lit, especially when you get the hit independently, like I did with “Munch.” I wrote that by myself, just me and my producer. That would be like my advice to any up-and-coming artists, definitely stay independent as long as you can.
