Ice Spice: meet the internet’s hottest new rapper

Each week in Breakout, we talk to the emerging stars blowing up right now – whether it be a huge viral moment, killer new track or an eye-popping video – these are the rising artists certain to dominate the near future

It didn’t take long for Ice Spice to become an icon. In August, the 23-year-old dropped the song of the summer with ‘Munch’, a thrilling drill smash that showed the world her tight raps and immediate quotability. By October, Lil Nas X was dressing up as her for Halloween.

Born Isis Gaston, the Bronx-raised rapper has tapped into the science of virality, much like her Halloween impersonator. ‘Munch’ popularised a new word in the hip-hop dialect, after all — ‘munch’ being a dismissive term for a person obsessed with you — and each new track from her brought new memes and catchphrases that all circle back to her music. “I was a typical college girl,” Ice Spice says about life before her first moment of virality, a ‘Buss It’ challenge video on TikTok. “I had never been viral before.” She’s certainly picked up the trade quickly.

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