Did Ice Spice do sports? Rapper's reason for dropping out of the State University of New York explored

Ice Spice rose to fame with TikTok in 2021. She is not a one-hit-wonder and has bagged collaborations with Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, and other artists. Not much is known about Spice's life before fame. However, an old photo resurfaced on the internet last year.

While talking to Nardwuar the Human Serviette at the Camp Flog Gnaw festival in December 2023, Spice was shown a throwback picture where she was wearing a forest green jersey and had her hair pulled back into a ponytail. For the unversed, the singer played for her volleyball team at Sacred Heart High School in Yonkers.

Holding the photo, Spice joked:

“Delete this now!”

She added:

“This is so cute! Shoutout my coach, Barb.”

Although Spice was rewarded with a scholarship to the State University of New York (SUNY), she dropped out after one year. The singer explained that she dropped out of school to pursue music with RIOT USA, her current music producer.

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Why did Ice Spice drop out of the State University of New York?

Ice Spice's spirit for sports earned her a full scholarship to play for SUNY Purchase. In an interview with DJ Booth in June 2022, Spice revealed the reason for dropping out of college. The Munch (Feeling U) singer talked about her childhood dreams of becoming famous. She shared that although her dad was an "underground rapper," she wanted to carve her own path.

Ice Spice played volleyball only for a year in her college. After that, she decided to pursue a career in beauty. Her initial plans were changed when she met RIOT USA in high school. She dropped her first song, Bully Freestyle, with RIOT and the rest is history. She took TikTok by storm and soon made it to the big stage with Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift.

In an interview with XXL magazine in January 2023, she explained her decision to drop out of college. She said:

“I left because I felt like I was in the wrong place."

2023 MTV Video Music Awards - Show - Source: Getty. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for MTV)

Spice added that her commute to the college was strenuous. The singer did not live inside the campus as it wasn't cost-effective. The Bronx-born singer also discussed her future plans in music as she told DJ Booth:

"I wanna do Latin music at some point. I’m actually working on some Spanish songs right now. I wanna get into more pop stuff, just fun vibes, but later on down the line when that makes more sense."

Ice Spice mentioned that she continues to work on her art as she believes that authenticity is the key to her success. In the same conversation, she added:

"I’ve learned that originality is really important and that a lot of people will try to copy you, but you can’t put too much focus on that. You’ve just gotta focus on making yourself the best version of YOU."

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Although Ice Spice hasn't pursued a career in volleyball, she is often spotted supporting other sports. For instance, the Barbie World singer was seen at the courtside of a Knicks game in May 2024.

The singer has been unstoppable since her high school days and aims to bring original music. She rolled out her debut studio album, on July 26. She is currently promoting her album through her 'Y2K! World Tour,' which will conclude in Miami Beach on August 31.