Since she was a child, iCandy believed that she was destined to be a star. With an infectious personality and magnetic charisma, But if you think that iCandy emerged on the rap scene solely off her viral “Keep Dat,” you are sadly mistaken. She’s been on the grind for years, honing her craft, cultivating her skill set, and learning valuable lessons about the inner workings of the music business.
In December 2011, she first posted music videos on her YouTube channel, beginning with her song “Keep Pushing” when she was just 14 years old.
iCandy would release several mixtapes, including Who Is She and Groundwork. “Keep Dat…” was released in November 2022, and is her biggest success to date garnering over 15 million streams on Spotify and 3.5 billion on TikTok. She also landed on Spotify’s US Viral 50 spot, Undoubtedly, ICandy is
Describing her music style as a combination of “a bit of Latto in with Kodak Black,” she also had been influenced by several artists who inspired her to create her unique style.
“I grew up listening to Trina, I’m a big, big fan of Lauryn Hill, and I’m a super big fan of Jeezy too,” she explained.
As a teenager, iCandy knew that she wanted to be a performer and that she would pursue music. She shared that performing at pep rallies at different high schools across Pompano Beach, FL “gave her life,” and she turned to music as an escape from some of the struggles she was going through.
“After the first time I performed when I was around 14 years old, I knew that performing music was what I wanted to do. Making music has always been a way for me to express myself and to get away from whatever I was going through at home. So being able to go to the studio helped me to leave everything behind so wouldn’t have to deal with those issues. I was just a teenager but I dedicated my life to making music and it’s all I ever wanted to do,” iCandy recalled.
Her talent for music and love of rapping would not go unnoticed for long. iCandy’s undeniable talents would soon catch the attention of a relative who provided access to the studio, which would be a life-changing event for the aspiring rapper.
“I had a God-Brother named Harold who everyone knew as “H-Money.” He was the one who actually took me to the studio for the first time,” iCandy said. “While everyone was rapping, I used to always tell him, ‘I can do this sh*t.”
“He was like, ‘You think so?’ So I went into the booth and just started rapping. At first, I didn’t know how to stay on the beat but I kept going to the studio, and I got better every time. He was the first person to give me a chance,” iCandy said.”I appreciated that because it pretty much just changed my life and I’ve been making it happen since then.”
In an ever-changing rap game, consistency is a major key, according to iCandy. For several years, she performed and worked on her songwriting skills so when “Keep Dat” took over social media platforms and earned a significant buzz, she was more than ready for her moment. Reflecting on the song’s creation, “Keep Dat” was written after iCandy ended a tumultuous relationship.
“I was in a really serious relationship where we were living together and everything. Of course, he wasn’t doing the right thing and I felt like I was just getting disrespected all that time,” iCandy remembered. “Finally, we broke up. I ended up leaving after the hundredth time [Laughs].”
“Mind you, the song was actually in my healing stage. I done cried all night all day and I cried all night. I’m done checking this ni**a page. I don’t care what he does. And now he that I’m actually in a good space of me getting over a breakup. You can keep him, I got this,” she continued.
Following the success of “Keep Dat,” iCandy has several other collaborations in the pipeline as she prepares for her forthcoming debut album that’s in the works. Recently, she dropped “Big Mad” featuring Flo Milli, poised to be another anthem of Black female empowerment.
“Flo had contacted me when “Keep Dat” came out. She’s a great person and really genuine. I love her to death. I hoped she could have done a remix, but it didn’t work out that way. When I got the track for “Big Mad,” all I could hear was her on it,’ iCandy said.’I kept telling my manager that Flo would fit perfectly on the song. I called her and told her about that song, and she asked me to send it to her. After she heard it, she said, “Give me a couple of days.’” That was love because she didn’t have to or she could have given me the runaround. She has always been my genuine treat for me since I met her.”
It’s not lost on iCandy that she is making a name for herself in rap music during the “Golden Era” of hip-hop where women MCs dominate the scene. With iCandy’s one-of-a-kind artistry, we can expect her to make notable contributions to the culture going forward.
“It’s so amazing because like you say, like 5-10 years ago you didn’t see as many girls all at one time as you we see now,” she said. “It was usually just one at a time. To see everybody together and embracing each other, collaborating, it’s so amazing for me to be in this era when female MCs are like running the game and everybody is doing a thing.”
