Key Takeaways:

• Ice Spice reflects on letting people believe she lacked bars early in her career.
• In a new interview, she opens up about her decision to stay quiet and why that’s changed.
• The Bronx rapper now feels ready to speak up and unapologetically stand on her writing skills.

Ice Spice’s rise has been meteoric. While her hits have topped the charts and become viral sensations, lyricism isn’t often at the top of the list of topics when discussing her talents.

Nevertheless, the “Bikini Bottom” rapper is adamant that her pen game be officially recognized. In an interview with NYLON published on Wednesday (Sept. 10), she spoke on not engaging with critics and fans who question her writing ability. “I think my mistake was basically … letting people feel like they were right a little bit,” she said. “People were trying to say that I’m not a lyricist, and I just kind of went in with the attitude of ‘Yeah, they’re right. I’m not.’ But it’s just not true.”

The Bronx native kicked off her career with a string of hits that are light on the bars but heavy on the beats and vibes. From 2022 to 2023 she released songs — usually produced by RiotUSA— like “Munch (Feelin’ U),” “In Ha Mood” and “Barbie World” with Nicki Minaj, among others. Each track went platinum while simultaneously becoming famous staples on social media.

Perhaps she was too busy to entertain lyrical criticism, but now she seems to regret it. “I didn’t really feel like having to prove that,” she shared. “But I figured I’d let you know that I definitely knew I was [a lyricist]. The whole time. I just let them say what they want and be happy with that.”

It’s worth noting that in a 2023 interview, Ice Spice did address her use of “simple” lyrics. “I wouldn't consider myself a lyricist,” she told Complex at the time. “Obviously, lyrics go into music, and I do think about them, and I do be having bars in my music but they're just super simple. I want them to be digestible; I don't want them to fly over people's heads, and they never catch it. I want people to hear it right away and be like, ‘OK, that was cute.’”

Recently, Ice Spice made her acting debut in the Spike Lee-directed film Highest 2 Lowest alongside Denzel Washington and A$AP Rocky.