Spice

Charismatic Jamaican dancehall singer and deejay Spice built her reputation through sharp wordplay, provocative lyrics, and a commanding bravado that brought global acclaim, commercial breakthroughs, and the title Queen of Dancehall. Her rise accelerated in 2009 via the contentious Vybz Kartel duet "Romping Shop," after which she flooded the market with singles, made her EP bow with the well-received 2014 release So Mi Like It, and unveiled her first proper long-player as the 2018 mixtape Captured. Along the way she took an acting turn in the feature Destiny and entered the cast of VH1’s Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta. Beyond her own extensive single catalog she has appeared on recordings by Mýa, Kid Ink, Jax Jones, and numerous additional artists. In 2021 she issued her official debut album, the Grammy-nominated 10, and followed it a year later with Emancipated.

Born Grace Latoya Hamilton in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, she spent part of her upbringing in nearby Portmore and also lived for a time in London, England, with her grandparents. After studying at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts she honed her craft as a dancehall vocalist, attracting notice for her commanding deejay presence at the renowned Jamaican festival Sting in 2000. A touring link with singer Baby Cham steered her toward producer Dave Kelly and his Madhouse Records label, where she cut her earliest material. Her recorded introduction arrived with 2003’s “Complain,” and two years later she scored a modest dancehall success with “Fight Over Man,” built on the popular Eighty Five riddim.

Widespread attention followed in 2009 when she and Vybz Kartel released the sexually charged “Romping Shop,” a track that interpolated Ne-Yo, surged especially in the United States, logged 15 weeks on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and ultimately drew a ban from the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation. With her visibility elevated, Spice collected multiple honors that year, including the Excellence in Music and Entertainment award for Female Deejay of the Year—an accolade she repeated in 2010. Freshly signed to VP Records she issued a steady stream of singles that culminated in the 2014 arrival of her debut EP So Mi Like It. Although the title track never charted, it gained wide traction and later surfaced in remix form on a Busta Rhymes mixtape. The EP itself entered Billboard’s Top Reggae Albums chart at number 14 and contained another Vybz Kartel collaboration, “Conjugal Visit.” Between 2015 and 2017 she balanced her own output with guest spots alongside A$AP Ferg and Kid Ink. An appearance on Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta led to a full-time role in its seventh season, and in early 2018 she disclosed ongoing disagreements with her label over the timing of her debut album. That project surfaced later the same year as the independently released Captured mixtape. Fronted by the colorism-focused anthem “Black Hypocrisy,” the set topped Billboard’s Reggae Albums chart and yielded further favorites such as “Romantic Mood” and “Cool It.” She maintained her relentless pace of standalone singles through 2019. Late 2020 brought “Frenz,” followed in 2021 by “Go Down Deh” featuring Shaggy and Sean Paul. The latter became a streaming success that propelled her Shaggy-produced debut album 10 to number six on the Reggae Albums chart and earned a Grammy nomination. The follow-up album Emancipated appeared the next year. After a health scare she resumed her customary high output in 2023 with singles including “Spice Marley” and “Bed a Rock,” then continued in 2024 with “Hollywood” and “2085 Rock.”