Ice Spice Enjoys Creative Freedom & Calls The Shots While Rising To The Top: ‘It’s All Her’

Billboard published an interview with the star on Thursday, offering a look at how Ice Spice enjoys total creative freedom.

Zach Friedman, co-president of 10K Projects, shared, “No one on the label side touches her music…It’s all her.”

“No one on the label side touches the music. There is no traditional A&R with her. No one’s picking beats, no one’s saying, ‘Do this, do that.’ It’s all her.”

He added, “We’re on her schedule.” IKTR!

Ice Spice’s manager—James Rosemond Jr.—added to this and revealed that, besides creative freedom, the 23-year-old also owns her masters.

“We got the best deal, and now she owns her masters. She owns her publishing. And not a lot of people can say that.”

Taking a step back, Ice Spice also had to reflect on the journey that led her to this point.

After gaining an interest in rap through her father, she went on to form a working relationship with producer RIOTUSA after they crossed paths at SUNY Purchase.

“I had a couple producer friends on campus that never would f**king send me a beat…Nobody wanted to send me beats but RIOT.”

In turn, they became a dynamic duo, and 10K Projects co-president Tony Talamo compared them to Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.

“Ice and RIOT are like Shaq and Kobe. You just don’t break it up. You let them do their thing, and they’re going to cook every night.”

They went on to produce several hits together, and Ice Spice noted, “I love how we’re able to just build a brand, and it’s kind of exclusive in a way.”

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Thanks to her and RIOTUSA’s hard work, they skyrocketed to the top. Ultimately, this brought about opportunities for her to work with some poppin’ artists.

When it comes to her getting Nicki Minaj on “Princess Diana,” Ice Spice says Rosemond worked his magic.

He recalled, “It took months to get Nicki on board, and it happened.”

“I’m listening to her. Who’s her idol? Nicki, Nicki, Nicki, Nicki, Nicki. My thing is, how do I get her Nicki? And it’s being persistent.”

She also spoke on how her collab with British artist PinkPantheress naturally came about.

“I followed Pink, and I posted ‘Boys A Liar’ on my Story. And she swiped up and was like, ‘Do you want to get on it?'”

She added that she had already been a fan of the artist and was surprised by their collab’s success.

“I’ve been a fan of Pink since she first came out, so to work with her was so crazy…I didn’t think it’d be that big, to be honest.”

As for what the future holds for Ice Spice, she says that—although she’s still gettin’ the hang of things—it’s only the beginning.

“I’m still learning a lot, to be honest. But I’m so happy I’ve put in that time and that work—because it’s paying off.”

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