Spice says watching her moth struggle while growing up inspired her to become one of the richest dancehall artists.
The Queen of Dancehall Spice has always shared her humble beginnings with her fans, but now she’s sharing about her journey from a poor country girl to now owning many houses and building generational wealth for her children.
Born Grace Hamilton, Spice sat down with Forbes Magazine to talk about her music career and her upbringing in finer detail. She’s been in the industry for two decades, but her life full of glam and luxury wasn’t always that way, as her father died at the age of nine, leaving Spice to suffer hardships growing up.
Spice grew up in the Old Braeton community in St. Catherine, and her earlier life was full of wonderment and adventures with her parents and five other siblings. Her mother was a fisherwoman who also sold the fishes she caught at her restaurant in the community, which was frequented by tourists and visitors from Kingston. According to Spice, this is what fueled her entrepreneurial spirit. The hardship she endured was what gave birth to her ambition and drive to get where she is in life.
Nowadays, Spice is a businesswoman and a prominent artist and reality star. Her music has taken her to many places across the world but particularly atop music charts like Billboard.
In her interview with Forbes, Spice says it was her mother’s struggles that inspired her.
“I tell my mom that she’s my inspiration because I watched her struggle with all of us,” Spice told Forbes. “She truly made something out of nothing. My mother would cook one pound of rice and make sure that we all were full. We felt like we had ten pounds of rice! I come from humble beginnings, and I managed to overcome all of the adversity and boss up. On top of that, I lost my house due to a fire when I was in high school.”
Spice says she now used the tagline “From Homeless to Owning Houses” to remind herself where she’s coming from.
She added that her success is due in large part to her ability to reinvent herself and leave memorable moments with her fans, who make up almost 4 million on her Instagram account.
Spice is known as the Queen of Stage for her electrifying performances, where she goes all out for the enjoyment of her fans. For her, maintaining her stage performance and her looks in a male-dominated industry are a few of the things that she uses to her advantage.
“As a woman in a male-dominated industry, I believe my stagecraft and versatility allow me to stand out,” she revealed.
Spice also spoke about having multiple sources of income, including starting her various businesses like clothing line Graci Noir and Faces & Laces, which provides full lace wigs, beauty, skincare, as well as her own music label, which means she makes most of her profit for herself rather than pay middlemen.
She added that her poor background influenced her to drive to become an entrepreneur and break generational curse especially now that she’s a mother of two.
Meanwhile, Spice encouraged other women to pursue their goals and be diligent by working hard and praying as they strive to be successful.
Her debut album 10 is presently out after being in the works for more than ten years. In the meantime, Spice is among one of the highest-paid dancehall artists for both males and females and has been quite active as she travels and performs across the United States.
In the meantime, she is also on the hit reality show Love and Hip Hop Atlanta with her boyfriend, Justin Budd.
