This is the age of female rappers, with new talent emerging almost daily. Ice Spice is currently one of the newest faces in the female MC landscape, and her star is steadily rising. Affectionately referred to as “The People’s Princess” the rapper is known for her curly ginger hair, slick flow and meteoric rise to the top — all within just two years of the first song she officially released.
Thanks to features on tracks with iconic artists like Nicki Minaj for the 2023 record summer box office hit “Barbie” movie, Ice Spice has gone from being a viral sensation to a recognizable name beyond the Hip-Hop community. With all that attention and near instant success, that only leaves one question — how much is Ice Spice worth?
Ice Spice’s Bronx Connection
Ice Spice was born Isis Naija Gaston in 2000 from the birthplace of Hip-Hop — The Bronx. She grew up in the Fordham Road neighborhood and is the oldest of five children. Her father was an underground rapper while her mother worked at a car dealership. She is of African American and Dominican descent.
As a child, she fell in love with Hip-Hop, crediting other female MCs like Lil’ Kim and Nicki Minaj as her inspirations along with Jay-Z, Wu-Tang Clan and 50 Cent. After school she would try her hand at poetry and freestyle raps, trying out her craft on classmates in elementary school through high school. She often credits Nicki Minaj as the inspiration that solidified her dreams of becoming a rapper. It was in high school that she picked her stage name because she liked how it rhymed.
Although Ice Spice enrolled in the State University of New York (SUNY) at Purchase and initially studied biology in 2018, she later left after her sophomore year, stating that she did not feel the school was a good fit for her along with its tiring commute.
Ice Spice’s Career Takes Off
After leaving college, Ice Spice worked in retail. But in 2021 she started rapping, working with the record producer RiotUSA who produced her first track “Bully Freestyle.” Even before this, Ice Spice was a viral sensation when a dance video she filmed for the “Buss It” challenge gained traction on Twitter. She would go on to release the song “Name of Love” on Soundcloud which later rose in popularity on Instagram.
In 2022 Ice Spice dropped the track “Munch (Feelin’ U)” with a video that went viral thanks to support from media outlets like WorldStarHipHop and artists like Drake, who included the song on rotation for his Sirius XM station. She achieved virality again with the track now getting picked up on TikTok and even reaching the charts on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and the Bubbling Under Hot 100 charts.
Features and Collabs Help Sky Rocket Ice Spice’s Profile
By late 2022, Ice Spice was in demand and started fielding features and collaboration opportunities with major artists. This included a feature on B-Lovee’s song “One Time” in September 2022, a collaboration with Lil Tjay on the single “Gangsta Boo” in February 2023, followed by a feature on PinkPantheress’ “Boy’s a Liar Pt 2″ song in the same month.
In April 2023, she collaborated with Nicki Minaj, featuring the rapper who inspired her on the remix of Ice Spice’s song “Princess Diana.” She would go on to collaborate with Nicki Minaj again for the song “Barbie World” that was part of the “Barbie” movie soundtrack. But in the spring of 2023, Ice Spice snagged a feature on the remix of Taylor Swift’s song “Karma” which was a bonus track for Swift’s tenth studio album.
Ice Spice’s Awards
Given how new Ice Spice is to the music industry, her total nominations are still pretty impressive since she has only been formally rapping since 2021. 2023 was the year that the majors really started to take notice of her — earning countless nominations with the BET Awards, BET Hip-Hop Awards, the MTV Music Video Music Awards and more. Currently, she has won three awards in 2023: the Rookie of the Year from Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players, the Impact Award from the BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards and Best New Artist at the MTV Music Video Awards.
Ice Spice’s Current Net Worth
Given that Ice Spice is still fresh in the game, it is not surprising that she does not yet have one of the highest net worths out there. Current estimates as of the time of publication set her net worth at roughly $2 million. The specifics of where her earnings came from aren’t entirely clear. But the rapper claimed in a social media comment that from the track “Munch (Feelin’ U)” alone, she earned at least $2 million. Likewise, rumors swirled from an unconfirmed source that spoke with Billboard that her signing to 10K Projects and Capital Records also came with a $3 million price tag.
