Ice Spice gave Cardi B her flowers during a recent sit-down with Keke Palmer, saying the Bronx superstar revived belief in women’s place in Hip-Hop at a time when Nicki Minaj felt like an unreachable standard.
“I feel like Cardi B definitely brought back that hope [that] girls could rap. Because for a long time, Nicki [Minaj] seemed so unattainable,” Ice Spice said on “Baby, This is Keke Palmer.” “You know, that’s part of the lore, too of why I was so obsessed because I’m like, ‘Only she could do it.’”
The 24-year-old rapper, who has collaborated with both women, acknowledged the complicated space she occupies between two of the biggest names in the genre.
She and Minaj teamed up on 2023’s “Princess Diana (Remix)” and again in 2024 on “Barbie World.” Cardi B, meanwhile, recorded a remix of Ice Spice’s breakout hit “Munch (Feelin’ U)” but ultimately shelved it, saying she wasn’t happy with her delivery.
Despite past rumors of friction with Minaj, Ice Spice said she still holds the Queens rapper in high regard.
“Being co-signed by Nicki Minaj felt ‘crazy, crazy, crazy,’” she said. “I always wanted that to be the case, but when it happens, you’re like, ‘Whoa, is this real life?’ Two records with her, I was gassed. Of course, I still am.”
Ice Spice On Why Nicki Minaj Record Deal Fell Through
As for why she didn’t sign to Minaj’s Heavy On It Records, Ice Spice explained it came down to timing.
“I was already signed when she was trying to sign me,” she added. “So I think that’s where the hiccups were. It was really no room anymore, at that point, to make a new deal. I’m signed to two labels.”
Their relationship came under scrutiny in 2023 after leaked texts appeared to show Ice Spice calling Minaj “ungrateful and delusional.”
She later addressed the messages in Rolling Stone, saying they were written “in a moment of frustration around contract negotiations” and admitted she “could have [chosen] different words.”
“Regardless of how I felt in that moment, [Nicki] is still somebody I respect as an artist,” she said. “I’m always going to admire everything she’s done for me and the culture.”
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