Last week, Bronx rapper Ice Spice, born Isis Naija Gaston, dropped the long-awaited music video for her new single “Baddie Baddie,” swapping her signature orange locks for varying lengths of pink hair. It’s giving fashion, fun and ferocity.
Featuring Olympian gold medalist Sunisa Lee and supermodel Anok Yai, the two-minute video — co-directed by directing duo, The Evil Twins (George and Frederick Buford) and Ice Spice herself — is made up of quick scenes that combine photo stills, real-life footage of fashion week and screaming fans and what seems to be improvised, face-giving-booty-shaking-tongue-wagging choreography with powerful struts.
From cat-walking down the streets of the Bronx in a Victorian looking corset with rear-end voluptuous and exposed, to twerking in the club, the video captures a “baddie” in both respects.
“She got that New York roughness, but still got that sexiness and femininity,” said Clifton, a security guard at KIPP NYC College Prep High School on 149th Street.
“She’s beautiful. She represents the Bronx, you know what I mean? She gives out Bronx lingo,” echoed Tyson, Clifton’s colleague.
In slang, a baddie can be defined as a confident, powerful woman who faces life unapologetically, with determination and a keen sense of style. Ice Spice’s rap speaks touches on being sure in herself, being an icon and seeing through those who just want her for what she can provide rather than her genuine company.
“I know he don’t want me for me (like), I know he just want what I got,” some of the lyrics say.
“[A bad b—- is] somebody who’s very confident with themselves and knows what they want,” the rapper said in a 2022 interview with Billboard Magazine. “My mom is a bad b—- and she raised me to be just like her.”
The 25-year-old, Grammy-nominated rapper is of Nigerian and Dominican descent and grew up in the Fordham Road area of the Bronx. She attended Sacred Heart High School in Yonkers before enrolling in the well-known arts and performance school SUNY Purchase, according to TIME. And although she was professionally making music since 2020, it was her hit 2022 hit single, “Munch (Feelin’ U)” that launched her to stardom.
“A munch is basically like an eater—someone that’s obsessed with you. It could be a hater, too,” Gaston told R&B legend Erykah Badu and her daughter, Puma Curry in a piece for Interview Magazine.
The song led to a collaboration with Dunkin’ Donuts in 2023 where they released the “Ice Spice MUNCHKINS” which blends pumpkin spice donut holes (munchkins) with the donut chain’s frozen coffee. Yet, despite her rise to fame, Gaston still found time to pay it back to her stomping grounds. Last year, she partnered with BronxWorks, a nonprofit human and social services organization, for a day of “girls empowerment and community uplift.”
In May, the Bronx Times covered Gaston’s partnership with Girls Inc. for a wellness summit at the Young Women’s Leadership School in the Mount Hope neighborhood. The organization supports girls in STEM, college preparation, financial literacy and mental health.
Fans around the borough told the Bronx Times they attribute her popularity to her collaborations and the samples she uses in her music. Much like “Baddie Baddie” which features the hook of M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls” song
A local fan, Anthony Ventura from Kingsbridge, dressed up as Ice Spice for Halloween 2023, complete with a long orange wig and a True Religion dress.
“My infatuation really started when she came out with the song with Nicki Minaj called ‘Princess Diana,” Ventura said of the 2023 hit which peaked at number 4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 list. “It was like seeing your own people win, you know what I’m saying? Like, she looked like a regular girl from down the street.”
The video ends with a Door Dasher presenting Ice Spice and Yai, but it’s empty, with the word “TEA” written in capital, purple letters on the bottom of the iconic red delivery bag. Perhaps it alludes to her squashed beef with fellow, female rapper Latto. Perhaps it alludes to her 2024 break up with female singer Baby Storme. Whatever the “tea,” Ice Spice is here to slay.
Reach ET Rodriguez at etrodriguez317@gmail.com. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
