Bronx drill artist Ice Spice recently unveiled that she does not aim to be a lyricist with her music as she doesn’t want the meaning of her material to go over people’s heads.
Ice Spice has had a crazy two years and has experienced a remarkably rapid rise to fame. She has ascended to stardom far quicker than any female rapper in history. Prior to her TikTok viral hit ‘Much (Feelin’ U),’ the musician (real name Isis Gaston) was pretty unknown. Now, she is headlining festivals across the globe.
Although fans now hold her in high regard as a rapper, in a recent interview with Complex, Gaston admitted that she doesn’t consider herself a lyricist. Despite all this success and acclaim, many still take aim at the rapper and believe she doesn’t deserve it. Her live performances are still underwhelming, and there is definitely work to be done. However, this doesn’t phase Gaston.
Gaston stated during her conversation with the publication, “I wouldn’t consider myself a lyricist. 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.”
This is a common trend in contemporary hip-hop, where artists have prioritised catchy earworms and ditched the super lyrical nature of people such as KRS-One and Nas. This sentiment has been echoed by figures in other genres, including Dancehall, where Bounty Killah explained the rise of Afrobeat is because Jamaican artists are being too technical with their lyrics in a climate where people want the simple, understandable lyrics of Burna Boy.
Many hip-hop icons take what Gaston is saying as a sign that hip-hop is compromising standards when it comes to lyrics and diluting the art form that was once centred around spreading messages with lyrics.
Several artists, such as Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Yachty, have referred to the importance of “vibes” as opposed to lyrics and prioritise feeling over any sort of meaning. You can see Gaston’s comments below.