Ice Spice is opening up about the women who inspired her to take rap seriously. During a recent appearance on Keke Palmer’s podcast Baby, This Is Keke Palmer, the Bronx-born rapper credited Cardi B for giving women “hope” in hip-hop, admitting that for years she didn’t see rap as a realistic career path for herself.
When Palmer asked what made her realize she could pursue music professionally, Ice Spice responded without hesitation: “I feel like Cardi B definitely brought back that hope that girls could rap. Because for a long time Nicki seemed so unattainable.”
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Her comments shed light on the generational shift in female rap over the last decade. Nicki Minaj, who dominated the scene throughout the 2010s, was often seen as the sole woman at the top of mainstream rap. While her success broke barriers, Ice Spice explained that Nicki’s level of stardom made it difficult for newcomers to imagine following in her footsteps. For years, Minaj broke numerous records. In 2010, her debut album Pink Friday topped the Billboard 200, achieving the largest first-week sales for a female rap album in the 21st century. She followed it with two other massive albums: The Pinkprint and Queen. The rap icon’s dominance seemed unbeatable.
Cardi B’s rise, however, changed that perspective. With her breakout hit “Bodak Yellow” in 2017 and her Grammy-winning debut album Invasion of Privacy in 2018, Cardi proved that women could achieve commercial success and cultural influence in a genre often dominated by men. For Ice Spice, that representation was a turning point.
The 25-year-old has quickly carved out her own lane in the industry, thanks to viral hits like “Munch (Feelin’ U)” and collaborations with artists including Nicki Minaj herself and Taylor Swift. In 2024, Ice Spice released her debut album Y2K!, which debuted and peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard 200.
Photo: Baby, This Is Keke Palmer/YouTube
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