Ice Spice first brushed with internet virality in early 2021 when a video of her doing the Erika Banks "Buss It" challenge circulated on TikTok2. But that was a warm-up act. The real meme explosion came in August 2022 with the release of "Munch (Feelin' U)," a drill track she recorded almost on impulse. "I was recording in my room and I was like, 'Let me make a song fast. As fast as possible,'" she told Rolling Stone11. The accompanying music video, distributed by WorldStarHipHop and filmed in her home turf of the Bronx, went viral on TikTok when a snippet took over the platform5.

The song introduced "munch" as slang for a desperate, obsessive person. As Pitchfork's Alphonse Pierre put it, the word worked as "a more amorphous term for a loser, a hater, a fool, a certified bozo"12. Drake played the track on his Sirius XM station Sound 42, giving it a major co-sign, and the song charted on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs5. Ice Spice had met her producer RIOTUSA, son of Hot 97's DJ Enuff, while both were students at SUNY Purchase3.

Ice Spice's crossover from rapper to meme figure happened unusually fast. Within a year of "Munch" going viral, she was collaborating with Taylor Swift and starring in a Dunkin' Donuts commercial alongside Ben Affleck7. The military adopted her as an unofficial mascot, with Marines displaying Ice Spice flags in a trend that baffled everyone including, presumably, the Department of Defense7.

Her influence on internet slang was significant. "Munch" entered everyday online vocabulary as a catch-all insult for overeager people12. The New York Times profiled her as "Rap's New Princess," while her quotable lyrics ("How can I lose if I'm already chose?") became go-to captions on Instagram and Twitter2.

The "SpongeBob Big Guy Pants OK" moment in late 2025 showed her staying power as a meme source. DJs remixed the clip alongside other viral moments, and the phrase generated its own micro-economy of fan content10. Her willingness to engage with meme culture directly, using SpongeBob images to fight body-shamers rather than issuing formal statements, kept her internet-native credibility intact9.

Ice Spice's path to meme stardom started well before the music. Born January 1, 2000, she grew up in the Bronx as the eldest of six siblings5. Her father Joseph Gaston was an underground rapper, and she spent time in his studio as a kid, absorbing the craft3. She attended Sacred Heart High School in Yonkers, where she played volleyball, and later enrolled at SUNY Purchase as a communications major and defensive specialist on the volleyball team1. Old high school photos and volleyball roster images were dug up and circulated once she got famous, though she took the exposure in stride3.

She dropped out of SUNY Purchase after her sophomore year, citing the commute and poor fit, and worked as a cashier at Wendy's and The Gap5. Her stage name came from a "finsta" account she created at 14 because "the name rhymed" and she loved spicy food3. It stuck.

The collaboration with RIOTUSA that began during her freshman year at Purchase proved decisive. Their first viral track was "Bully Freestyle" in March 2021, followed by "No Clarity" in November 20213. She admitted being nervous after online negativity following "Bully Freestyle," but eventually recognized it as a sign the music was landing: "Once other people start to love you, people have to hate to balance it out," she told The Guardian3.

The "Munch" era in mid-to-late 2022 changed everything. Joe Budden, known as a tough critic, was filmed rapping along to the track in delight on his podcast, a clip that spread across social media11. Drake DMed her to compliment her music and invite her to OVO Fest, an exchange she shared on Instagram with his permission11. She signed with 10K Projects and Capitol Records in September 20225.

2023 was her breakout year by any measure. The *Like..?* EP, her collaboration singles "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2" with PinkPantheress, "Karma" with Taylor Swift, and "Barbie World" with Nicki Minaj and Aqua all hit the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, making her the only rapper with four top-ten songs that year5. Each release generated its own meme cycle. The "Princess Diana" remix with Nicki Minaj peaked at No. 45. Campus Times called her "Rap's New Princess" while noting the tension between her genuine artistry and her status as a walking meme generator2.

The body-shaming meme wars came next. In late 2024, after noticeable weight loss, trolls scrutinized her frame online. Ice Spice responded by posting a SpongeBob meme on her Instagram Story featuring a bloated, tired version of the character captioned "Nah she mid bro"9. Earlier, in August, she'd shut down Ozempic rumors with a gym montage set to her own track "BB Belt," captioning it "We beatin them allegations bae"9. During an X Spaces chat she didn't hold back: "B---h, I wish y'all never learned the word Ozempic... It's called a gym. It's called eating healthy. It's called being on tour"9.

Her SpongeBob connection came full circle in November 2025 when she released "Big Guy" for *The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants* soundtrack10. The chorus lyric "SpongeBob big guy pants OK" immediately became a standalone meme. The promotional video hit 2.2 million likes on Instagram and over 28.4 million views on X8. People attached the phrase to everything from Bridgerton GIFs to robot army clips, and DJs began remixing it within hours10. Lines like "I blow bubbles so big like Mrs. Puff" gave fans additional quotable material8. The lyric's appeal lay in what Them described as being "so confident in its simplicity, and yet, confounding in its complexity"10. Ice Spice had previously called SpongeBob "the only animated character I've ever had a crush on"10.

She also expanded beyond music into film, taking roles in *Highest 2 Lowest* and the SpongeBob movie, both in 20255. Her award haul by this point included the MTV VMA for Best New Artist, the People's Choice Award for New Artist of the Year, and four Grammy nominations including Best New Artist5.