Ice Spice reflects on her steadily growing career in Variety’s The New York Issue. In it, she recalls the stark difference between attending last year’s VMAs and the 2023 show, which took place earlier this month.
“I didn’t see anything,” she says of the view from her nosebleed seats at the 2022 event. “I just remember thinking, ‘I can’t wait to be a part of this.’ In this round, she sat next to the co-writer of the “Karma” remixes. Taylor Swift and received the award for Best New Artist.
“I was trying to hold back my tears,” Ice says of the moment. “It was so hard. But I’m so grateful, so happy, so excited.”
Of the Moonman trophy, she adds, “I’m going to keep it in my studio for inspiration.”
Ice Spice’s rapid rise to fame was accompanied by detractors; According to the rapper, they said things like, “Oh, I’ve never seen anything happen so fast. She needs to be studied” or “She is a plant.”
The rumors once bothered her, but now, she says, “I just let people believe whatever they want, to be honest.”
“I now understand that this is an integral part of this lifestyle,” she adds.
This lifestyle consists of “working out, eating healthy (and) sleeping” to ensure she writes the best music. It also occasionally includes text conversations with Taylor and the co-creator of Barbie’s World. Nicki Minaj.
“Sometimes I just wake up and say, ‘I’ll text Taylor’ or ‘I’ll text Nicki.’ And then they respond and I’m like, ‘Wow, that really makes me feel like that girl, for real,'” she says. “They support me and just encourage me, which gives me all the motivation I need.”
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