Background and career
Isis Naija Gaston (born January 1, 2000), known professionally as Ice Spice, is an American rapper and songwriter. Born and raised in the Bronx, New York City, she began her musical career during college in 2020, after meeting record producer RiotUSA. Ice Spice gained major recognition in late 2022 with her song "Munch (Feelin' U)", which went viral on TikTok. After signing with 10K Projects in a joint venture with Capitol Records, she released the singles "Bikini Bottom" and "In Ha Mood" to promote her debut extended play (EP), Like..? (2023). The EP spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "Princess Diana" (with Nicki Minaj), and peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200. She released multiple collaborative single that same year: "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2" (with PinkPantheress), "Karma" (with Taylor Swift), and "Barbie World" (with Nicki Minaj and Aqua), all of which peaked within the top-ten of the Billboard Hot 100. This made Ice Spice the only rapper to release four songs that achieved top-ten status in 2023.
Her 2024 singles, "Think U the Shit (Fart)" and "Did It First" (with Central Cee), preceded the release of her debut studio album, Y2K! (2024). She is the recipient of several accolades, including the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist, the People's Choice Award for New Artist of the Year, and the Impact Award from the BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards. Outside of music, she had roles in the films Highest 2 Lowest and The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (both 2025).
Early life and education Isis Naija Gaston was born on January 1, 2000, in the Bronx, New York City. Her father, Joseph Gaston, is African-American, while her mother, Charina Almanzar, is Dominican. The two met at a McDonald's in New York; Joseph was an underground rapper, and Charina worked at a car dealership. Charina was seventeen when she gave birth to Gaston. The two divorced when she was two years old. Gaston has five younger half-siblings: three sisters from her mother's side, as well as another sister and only brother from her father. Gaston spent much of her childhood with her grandparents and cousins in Fordham, Bronx. They moved out of Davidson Ave in 2007 and moved to University. She went to school in the Bronx until the 5th grade, and to a Catholic Sacred Heart High School in Yonkers, where she graduated in 2018. At age seven, she took a liking to hip-hop after listening to rappers like Lil' Kim, Nicki Minaj, and others. French Montana used to visit her elementary school when Isis was in the fourth grade. She wrote poetry and freestyle raps from then to high school.
In an interview with Billboard, Isis explained that she grew up listening to the likes of Jay-Z, 50 Cent, and Wu-Tang Clan because of her father's rap background. She would type out lyrics in the Notes app of her iPhone, listening to hip-hop instrumentals and rapping out loud to them. Gaston explained: "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." She chose Ice Spice as her stage name while she was a freshman in high school. Gaston attended the State University of New York at Purchase, where she was a defensive specialist on the school's volleyball team and studied communications. In seven matches, she had two kills and nine digs in the 2018 season. Around her sophomore year, Gaston dropped out of SUNY Purchase, later explaining that she did not believe the school was the right fit for her, and attributing her leaving college to the "strenuous commute". She worked as a cashier at Wendy's and The Gap.
How Ice Spice makes money
The two met at a McDonald's in New York; Joseph was an underground rapper, and Charina worked at a car dealership.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth, in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
