In a recent interview with DAZED, Ice Spice paid tribute to the late Pop Smoke for his pioneering role in the New York drill movement. The Bronx rapper expressed her admiration for Pop Smoke and acknowledged his significant impact on the music scene before his tragic death in February 2020.
Ice Spice claimed that she was a fan of Pop Smoke's music even before she began pursuing her music career seriously. She also mentioned other influential New York drill rappers like Sheff G, Sleepy Hallow, and Bizzy Banks as trailblazers in the genre.
Ice Spice said, "I love Pop Smoke. He's goated. I was definitely bumping him every day. That was even before I started making music seriously, in the studio. I was already rapping on some fun stuff."
She added, "But before I started recording, I was bumping him a lot. Sheff G too, of course. Sleepy Hallow. Bizzy Banks. It was a lot of people in the drill scene."
The early drill artists, including Pop Smoke, Sheff G, Sleepy Hallow, and Bizzy Banks, initially introduced a raw, street-infused sound. Ice Spice is credited with revolutionizing the New York drill scene with her unique, bubbly approach to the genre.
Her hit single "Munch (Feelin' U)" gained her widespread recognition and contributed a fresh twist to the Bronx drill scene, which also featured artists like Kay Flock and DThang. Ice Spice continued this trend with songs like "Bikini Bottom" and "In Ha Mood."
Ice Spice's growing success has caught the attention of other prominent rappers, including Nicki Minaj. Nicki recently shared Ice Spice's DAZED magazine cover on her Instagram Story, referring to her as "The people's PRINCESS."
Over the weekend, Nicki also called Ice Spice the "Princess" of rap in a comment on one of her Instagram posts. Ice Spice responded to Nicki Minaj's support on Twitter with a simple "omg" and shared an old tweet from 2020 where she practiced her reaction to Nicki following her.
