Ice Spice Considers Taylor Swift a Mentor: ‘She Gives Me So Much Advice’

Ice Spice has dominated the year with a slew of star-studded collaborations, but success on the Billboard Hot 100 is not the only thing she has gleaned from these tracks. In an interview with The Guardian published Friday (July 7), the “Munch” rapper opened up about how both Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj have become mentors to her.

According to Ice, Swift — who tapped the rapper for a much-discussed “Karma” remix — had been listening to her Like..? EP during rehearsals for her Eras Tour. “I was like, ‘You f–k with my project? Like, what?’” Ice said. “She’s so sweet – I was so obsessed with how humble she was and willing to work. She gives me so much advice – we talk all the time and she’s so funny. … But I can’t say what she be telling me.”

The “Karma” remix peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100, tying “Lavender Haze” as the second-highest charting single from Midnights.

The idea for the collaboration came from Ice Spice, according to the rapper — she “reached out through her team, just kind of saying, ‘Hey, Ice has been a big fan of Taylor’s since she was a little kid, would love to collaborate if that was ever something that came about.’” As with so much of her career already, Ice manifested the collaboration into existence and soon performed the remix to a sold-out stadium alongside Swift at the New Jersey Eras Tour stops.

Aside from Swift, Grammy-nominated rap icon Nicki Minaj has been another key collaborator for Ice Spice this year. The two New York rappers have teamed up for a pair of Hot 100 top 10 hits: “Princess Diana” (No. 4) and the AQUA-assisted “Barbie World” (No. 7). In the interview, Ice expressed how much she has learned from spending time with the “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” rapper.

“She be telling me to learn from her mistakes – just watching her in general, if you pay close enough attention, you gonna see what you should do,” Ice said. “I love to talk to her about things that I can’t talk about publicly – it just means so much to be able to have somebody like her.”

In addition to “Karma,” “Princess Diana” and “Barbie World,” Ice Spice has also sent a fourth song to the top 10 of the Hot 100 this year: the Jersey-inflected PinkPantheress duet “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2” (No. 3).