How Did Ice Spice Get famous?

Dominican rapstress Ice Spice has been on a viral spree within the past half year. She's had heavy-hitting numbers like “Munch (Feelin’ U)” and the recent “In Ha Mood”. But how exactly did the New York native rise to prominence in such a short amount of time?

Dating back to 2021, Ice Spice (birth name Isis Gaston) first gained traction on the popular video-sharing site TikTok. She partook in the social media “Buss It” challenge. In her video, Spice drastically transitions from her generic monotone homebody attire to a stylish curve-flaunting outfit. The video played to the beat of Texan rapper Erica Banks’ “Buss It” single. The clip went viral with millions of impressions.

As the video generated viral attention, Spice then took the initiative to dabble into music to expand her brand. In between video-making and music-recording, Spice had been an attendee at the NY-based SUNY University. However, due to growing disinterest in her honed skill as the college’s star volleyball athlete, she decided to drop out to pursue entertainment endeavors.

In the beginning, Spice shared in previous interviews that her main intent was to move forward with acting opportunities following her viral “Buss It” video; however, plans never took off as promised. She then readied a Soundcloud account to curate drill-stylized content with fellow New Yorker and up-and-coming producer RIOTUSA. Among the results included her debut feature “Bully (Freestyle)” alongside its follow-up “No Clarity” – the former released in April of 2021 while the latter seeing a release circa November ‘21.

While “Bully” secured a listening count of 88,000 listens on the app, “No Clarity” was able to accumulate well over 750,000 listeners, taking Spice to critical acclaim with online users praising her “fire” delivery. As the streams kept piling on, Spice would unveil another remarkable record that would take her to more rounds of viral notoriety.

That track would be “Name of Love”, which followed similar success as “Clarity” regarding listening count, only acquiring more impressions via social media sites like Instagram where the song became a hit sensation among users and their crafted reels.

But with popularity comes criticism. Shortly after the single blew up, Spice faced online rumors that she was an industry plant due to her close connection with her father being a rapper.

Making it clear by way of a 2022 interview with AudioMack, the 23-year-old femcee relayed to the press that her parental connection had nothing to do with the hype and anticipation that she had garnered on both TikTok and Soundcloud.
In fact, Spice confirmed that her father was not necessarily a renowned mainstream musician, but rather an underground one that has been hashing out bits of advice to her on how to stay positive amid the scrutiny that comes with being famous. Spice added, “I also feel like when they say stuff like [you’re an industry plant], they don’t really mean it. I truly feel like they know I’m not a plant. I think they just say stuff like that ‘cause they’re mad that I’m going up faster than their fave… If anything I would say stream your fave more.”

Spice eventually shut critics up for good when she went on to immerse herself in another viral hysteria. The 2022 summer drill anthem “Munch (Feelin’ U)” grasped attention from all sorts of media outlets, even snagging a co-sign and a private DM praise from five-time Grammy Award winner Drake.

“Munch” generated over 30 million views on YouTube since its upload this past August. It was regarded by Pitchfork to be the New York summer rap hit “that the public [had] been [anticipating]”. The title term “Munch” is dissected as a common insult to describe someone who is either a recluse, a loser or a pushover, hence the catchy lyrics “You thought I was feelin’ you?/That nigga a munch”.

With its unapologetic, in-your-face rhyme scheme by the Dominican rap starlet and its addictive drill-themed production made courtesy of close collaborator RIOTUSA, Spice’s “Munch” was able to chart moderately on Billboard due to its heavy demand of streaming by way of Spotify among other music-playing outlets. “Munch” became the first song out of her discography to chart, with it peaking at number 105 on the Billboard Hot 100, alongside numbers 34 and 28 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and the Billboard Rhythmic Top 40, respectively.

Ice Spice’s major exposure into the mainstream music scene soon led to a contract deal with Capitol Records who decided to handpick “Munch” as the lead single for her debut extended play (EP) entitled Like…? (2023).

Among the choices included the double entendre SpongeBob referenced “Bikini Bottom” and the recent club-ready New Year’s groove “In Ha Mood”. Like “Munch”, both records received ice-cold visual treatment and were able to make rounds on the web, securing well over tens of millions of impressions both via Twitter and YouTube.

Chart-wise, while “Bikini Bottom” became a minor hit in outer-North American regions like New Zealand, its follow-up “In Ha Mood” became a bonafide hit in the states, surpassing both “Bikini” and “Munch” on the U.S. Billboard charts (managing to score a peak position of number 70 on the Hot 100).

Finally, on January 20, 2023, Ice Spice unleashed her debut EP Like…? to the world, where it began charting successfully and impacting the Billboard charts successfully. The EP has since gone on to produce another hit, which insiders have hinted that the Lil Tjay-assisted “Gangsta Boo” music video is queued for an upcoming release.

With a majority of her content going viral and keeping her name afloat, alongside the latest addition of scoring a top five nationwide hit single with PinkPantheress per “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2”, it is clear that Ice Spice has established herself much more than a rebutted industry plant.