Ice Spice

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About

Ice Spice, real name Isis Gaston, is a drill rapper from the Bronx, New York who became notable in music and online in 2021 and 2022, predominantly because of her lyric "You Thought I Was Feelin' You?" and the slang term "munch." Going into 2023, Ice Spice continued to go viral on platforms like TikTok for her other songs "Bikini Bottom" and "In Ha Mood," among others, as well as various memes referencing her.

Background

Isis Gaston was born in the Bronx, New York on January 1st, 2000, and grew up on Fordham St.^[1] She later attended a Catholic high school in Yonkers, New York, ultimately leading her to attend SUNY Purchase.^[2] There, she played volleyball^[3] but ultimately dropped out after two years.^[2]

Online History

"We Both From The Bronx, So I Know That You Dirty" / Ice Spice's "No Clarity"

Ice Spice first went viral for her song "No Clarity." On November 6th, 2021, Ice Spice posted to YouTube^[4] the music video for her song "No Clarity," earning roughly 752,100 views in 10 months. At the 1:07-minute mark, Ice Spice raps, "We both from the Bronx, so I know that you dirty" (shown below).

After the music video's release, meme creators on Twitter and TikTok, predominantly from New York or the Bronx, found the lyrics humorous. For instance, on August 22nd, 2022, TikToker^[5] eyevasun posted a video in which he stitched the music video, looking confused about the bar. In five months, the video received roughly 2.1 million plays and 236,400 likes. Later on August 22nd, Twitter^[6] user Kevchesterr tweeted the video with the caption, "LMFAAAAAAOOOOOOOOO." In the same time period, the video received roughly 921,800 views and 36,800 likes (shown below).

You Thought I Was Feeling You? / "Munch (Feelin' U)"

You Thought I Was Feeling You? is a catchphrase stemming from song lyrics in Ice Spice's song "Munch (Feelin' U)" which released in mid-2022. After going viral as a TikTok sound, the phrase trended on Twitter due to its catchiness and Spice's distinctive look of thick thighs and a red, ginger afro. Ice Spice also went viral for her lyrics.

On August 10th, 2022, the YouTube^[7] channel of WorldStarHipHop uploaded the music video for Ice Spice's song "Munch (Feelin' U)," earning over 25 million views in five months (shown below). Also on August 10th, Ice Spice posted the video to Twitter,^[8] earning roughly 4.3 million views and 54,800 likes.

After the music video's release, predominantly male video creators and Twitch streamers started posting reactions to it, many making fun of Ice Spice's look compared to her song's lyrics. For instance, on August 11th, 2022, Twitch streamer TheSNSKings posted his reaction to TikTok,^[9] laughing at the lyrics and gaining roughly 1.7 million plays and 150,200 likes in five months (shown below, left). Despite some male creators initially making fun of the lyrics, an axiom developed in the content of male creators secretly enjoying the song, putting it on after their other male friends left them in private. On August 23rd, 2022, TikToker^[10] tibby.d_ posted a video of this nature, earning roughly 813,200 plays and 173,100 likes in five months (shown below, right).

Munch (Slang)

Munch originates from Ice Spice's "Munch (Feelin' U)." Its meaning is akin to the word "simp," as in, it means a man who is only good for giving oral sex on a woman due to his blind obsession with said woman.

Ice Spice was interviewed by Spotify's outlet RapCaviar on September 12th, 2022 in which she gave "relationship advice" and defined the word "munch." She said, "A munch is basically just a eater, like it could be a eater both ways. Like they really just on your body, like just a hater, or it could just be like somebody that's really obsessed with you that's just fiending to eat it." Over the course of five months, the video received roughly 1.7 million views and 13,600 likes on Twitter^[11] (shown below).

.@icespicee_ gave us the rundown on what exactly a munch is pic.twitter.com/0CPTexwZG7

— RapCaviar (@RapCaviar) September 12, 2022

"Bikini Bottom"

The YouTube^[12] channel of WORLDSTARHIPHOP uploaded the music video for Ice Spice's song "Bikini Bottom" on October 28th, 2022, gaining roughly 9.1 million views in two months (shown below). The song's primary sample comes from the soundtrack of SpongeBob SquarePants.

Like her previous songs, "Bikini Bottom" received mass engagement on TikTok where many male creators similarly reacted to the song by becoming "zesty." Over the course of two months, the song's TikTok^[13] sound had amassed roughly 133,800 videos using it.

"In Ha Mood"

On December 20th, 2022, Ice Spice posted a TikTok^[14] that previewed her song "In Ha Mood," with the primary lyrics being, "I tried dippin', he bеgged me to stay / Bae, I'm not stayin', I just wanna play / In the party, he just wanna rump / Big boobs and the butt stay plump / She a baddie, she know she a ten / She a baddie with her baddie friend." Over the course of three weeks, the TikTok received roughly 17.5 million plays and 2.5 million likes (shown below, left). The song earned lots of usage as a TikTok sound, both earnest and ironic. For instance, on January 8th, 2022, TikToker^[15] justj00official posted a video in which he used a TikTok filter to show him transforming into a girl while lip-dubbbing the song, gaining roughly 3.4 million plays and 566,800 likes in five days (since deleted).

Over the course of three weeks, Ice Spice's "In Ha Mood" amassed roughly 114,200 videos using it as a TikTok^[16] sound.

Following

By mid-January 2023, Ice Spice had amassed roughly 2.6 million followers on TikTok,^[17] 2.8 million followers on Instagram^[18] and 622,900 followers on Twitter.^[19]

Ice Spice Twerk / Signature Move

The Ice Spice Twerk, also known as Ice Spice's Signature Move, refers to Ice Spice's habit of twerking while putting her hand up underneath her crotch on stage and in videos. The mannerism inspired memes on TikTok and elsewhere as users joked about Ice Spice doing the twerk amid any, everyday activity or task for no apparent reason other than to thirst trap mid-concert performance, spawning the "How Ice Spice Does X" phrasal template.