Spice Wants A Rihanna, Nicki Minaj “Caribbean Girls” Collab, Says Shenseea Is “Doing Well”
Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta star and Queen of the Dancehall Spice says she still desires a team up with the two other Caribbean queens, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj. The Go Down Deh singer, who turns 38 this year, told Essence Magazine’s Social Media Director, Charisma Deberry, on Wednesday evening, that having Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago on one all-female track would be a good look.
“I want to highlight to people that so many female rappers are doing extremely well and it wasn’t like that in the past,” Spice began. “Just like for me, in Dancehall genre as well, there’s so many females that’s out now — whether they want to show me the respect — you know, it wasn’t like that like a couple years ago. So we all have to embrace each other and you know, we have to give dues.”
“Once upon a time there was only Lil Kim, that was reigning and doing good. But now, I could tell you: I would love to collab with Nicki Minaj, I would love to collab with Cardi B, I would love to collab with Megan Thee Stallion. So I mean the rappers are doing good,” she told Deberry.
Spice namedropped a few of her female Dancehall colleagues including Jada Kingdom and Shenseea, who had unfollowed the Queen on Instagram, earlier this year, after a perceived slight.
“In Dancehall, there’s alot of females that’s doing extremely well, as well. Jada Kingdom is doing well, Shenseea is doing well, Pamputtae out there, we all doing well,” Spice declared.
Both Spice and Shenseea are expected to release debut albums this year.
“That’s what the focus should be, about the amount of women that’s doing well in both genres at the moment. Because back in the days, it wasn’t like that,” Spice continued. “I remember times when it was just me. Alot of the females that’s out now, they weren’t there. It was just Spice. And once upon a time it was just Lady Saw. So right now the focus should be woman empowerment.”
The Billboard-charting artist, who is the first Jamaican singer to hit 1,000,000 followers on Instagram, added that she would “like to collab with alot of females. You know my dream collab is Rihanna, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, you know name it. My list is very tall, okay.”
Deberry told the Portmore native that she loved what she was saying about female empowerment and especially the “Caribbean girls: Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and Spice…y’all should make something happen, that could be real cute.”
Spice responded, “We all doing good. That is cute…Nicki Minaj, Spice, Rihanna, all from the Caribbean – Come on girls!”
Spice, whose real name is Grace Hamilton, had first mentioned that she would love to work with Minaj and Rihanna during an interview in May 2018, with host Pvnch on Thisis50, after he asked her to list a handful of artists that she thought she “would sound dope with”.
At the time, the Black Hypocrisy singer, who described herself as a die-hearted Nicki Minaj fan, had also said she was also trying to fuse Hip Hop and Dancehall.
In August 2018, when Minaj mentioned the Needle Eye deejay on her Queen album, she evoked huge cheers from Spice, who sang her praises on her IG page. In the final single on the 19-track project, Inspirations Outro, Minaj roll-called the artists who inspired the project and included Spice among a slew of Dancehall and Soca entertainers and Reggae legend Bob Marley.
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Spice, who got to meet Rihanna in person at the 2019 BET Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California was all excited as she posted a photo of herself with the Bajan megastar on her IG page that year.
“First of all @badgalriri touched me last night ok…,” she wrote at the time.
💕 @rihanna pic.twitter.com/tsAGUzkcZO
— Spice 👸🏾🇯🇲 (@spiceofficial) June 24, 2019
In the meantime, the mother of two, who is back home in Jamaica for the first time in two months, and fresh off her most recent collab, Go Down Deh, with Shaggy and Sean Paul, has announced that she has renewed her partnership with Magnum Tonic Wine, a deal which was initially struck in October 2019.
“Besties Its official, I’ve renewed my partnership with the official drink of dancehall, @magnumtonicwine 🔥💯 “The only thing I drink” #Resigned. This year is gonna be bigger and better. We have a bag a things in store for you! Gwaan #TekChargeAhTings and look out fi di next BIG announcement,” the So mi Like It singer said.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPJWCj8HJRh/
In 2019, Magnum Tonic Wine had announced a partnership with the Dancehall heavyweight, whom they unveiled their newest brand ambassador, as part of the brand’s 20th-anniversary celebration. Citing her “bold talents, magnetic persona and impressive work ethic”, J. Wray and Nephew’s representative said these traits were admirable and very much in alignment with Magnum Tonic Wine”.