Ice Spice's manager, James Rosemond Jr., recently spoke with Billboard about the viral New York artist's rise to fame. In doing so, he revealed how he discovered her, decided to help market her, and more. He began by revealing that "No Clarity" was one of the first songs he heard from her.
"It was her tone and the production she was picking," he explained, citing what stood out about her. "When I came across her early on, she only had about two or three songs out. She didn’t have the crazy monthly listeners and social numbers. Then I came across a song called 'No Clarity,' a drill flip of Zedd’s 'Clarity,' and heard the song’s possibilities. Next, I heard 'Name of Love.' One, she’s working with the same producer [RIOTUSA] and they’re creating a sound. Two, her tone, and three, they’re flipping these crossover samples in drills. That got me. Then I saw her image — the curls, which was different — and I’m like, 'Whoa!'"
Ice Spice Attends Alexander Wang Runway Show
As for their marketing strategy, Rosemond Jr. brought up her breakout single, "Munch." He continued: "Coming out of the gate, it was always three-dimensional chess. 'Less is more' was our conversation and 'Let’s not saturate.' Strategically, it was also about digital. When we put 'Munch' out, we got the right digital team, which was Create Music Group. Its sister companies include WorldStar and Genius. I never want to feel like an artist is on a treadmill. I always want them to feel like they’re moving forward from A to C, C to E. So I did a strategic play on the digital side to accelerate her growth, social and in the market. 'Munch' was everywhere that first week we put it out. And that was due to the strategic play that I was able to put together using the song as currency."
The interview comes as Spice prepares for the release of her debut studio album, Y2K! The project is set to drop on July 26, 2024. Be on the lookout for further updates on Ice Spice on HotNewHipHop.
[Via]