Who are Ice Spice's musical influences? Rapper looks to her New York roots for inspiration

Isis Naija Gaston, popularly known as Ice Spice, is a rising star in the music industry. At just 24 years old, she has received awards such as the People's Choice Award, the MTV Video Music Award, and four Grammy Award nominations.

However, Ice Spice's beginnings were humble, and she was influenced by a multitude of New York rappers of the generation while growing up. Among them are Lil' Kim, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Foxy Brown, and Remy Ma.

"With Nicki, Cardi, and Kim, it’s them being from New York of course. That New York swag and aggression and bad b*tchness. [Laughs}," said Ice in an October 2022 interview with Billboard.

The artist has also called Sheff G, Pop Smoke, Rihanna, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Taylor Swift her musical inspirations.

"When it comes to Lauryn and Erykah, they give a graceful angelic vibe of timeless beauty. All of them are icons."

However, her first inspiration as a child was her own father, who was also an underground rapper.

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"He definitely inspired me to want to record" — Ice Spice credits her father for stimulating her interest in music

Rolling Loud Europe 2024 - Day 3 - Source: Getty (Photo by Mario Skraban/Getty Images)

One of Ice Spice's first inspirations as a child was her father, Joseph Gaston. Joseph was of Nigerian descent and worked as an underground MC. Although not much is known about his career or his stage name.

In a September 2023 interview with Variety, Ice Spice recalled her father taking her to the studio and stimulating her interest in music. He also familiarized his eldest daughter with the biggest names in the hip-hop industry like 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Jadakiss, etc.

In fact, Ice Spice explicitly stated that she became an artist because she saw her father dipping his toes in the hip-hop industry.

“He definitely inspired me to want to record. I remember being in the studio with him. I was a toddler, probably. And I remember little flashes. Of course, not every detail, but small things like that being shown to you at such a young age make an impression on you," commented Ice Spice in an April 2023 interview with Paper Magazine.

She also recalled how her father would educate her in music and shaped her personality as a musician like a "true hip-hop head."

"Subconsciously, I ended up becoming an artist because I saw my father be one first. He's a music lover himself. He's a true hip-hop head, beyond me, honestly. He knows everything. He's always educating me on hip-hop and shit like that.”

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Nicki Minaj (Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage)

Growing up, she was also influenced by artists like Lil' Kim, Nicki Minaj, 50-Cent, Jay-Z and Wu-Tang Clan. Ice would memorize the lyrics of their raps by manually typing them out in her iPhone Notes app as a teenager.

"When I saw Nicki [Minaj], I was so mesmerized. She's the first female rapper that I seen. And ever since then, I was kinda set on what I wanted to be," commented Ice Spice in an interview with XXL Magazine in January 2023.

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Ice Spice first came to the limelight with her song Munch (Feelin' U) and signed a contract with 10K Projects and Capitol Records. The singer's debut EP already had songs on the Billboard Hot 100 List and had collaborations with artists like Lil Tjay and Nicki Minaj. Thereafter, she went on to release even more collaborations with Taylor Swift (Karma), PinkPantheress (Boy's A Liar Pt. 2), and Aqua (Barbie World).

The rapper finally released her much-anticipated album called Y2K! on July 26, 2024, via 10K Projects and Capitol Records. Her debut album features chartbusters like Think U the Sh*t (Fart), Phat Butt, Gimme a Light, and collaborations with artists Travis Scott (Oh Shhh...), Central Cee (Did It First), and Gunna (B*itch I'm Packin').

Y2K! marks a significant milestone in her career as it is Ice Spice's debut album after her 2023 EP Like...?. The EP peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200 and #5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.