1999–2007: Career Beginnings Spice was introduced by
Ninjaman to perform on stage with other artists in 1999. Spice then made her debut when she was given the opportunity to perform at the annual dancehall festival Sting in 2000. It was her first major appearance on a stage show, where she earned several encores from the crowd. During this early stage of her career, Spice went on to gain a reputation for her performing abilities, despite not having a hit record. While on tour in the UK, Spice earned the attention of
Baby Cham, who later introduced her to renowned record producer
Dave Kelly. From there, she released her first single for Kelly's Madhouse Records label entitled "Complain", then followed by her singles on the Bad Gal
riddim, "Right There" with Toi, and "Hype". At that time, she was featured on
Jimmy Cliff's "I Want I Do I Get" from his album
Black Magic (2004) and on
Beenie Man's "Hot" from his album
Concept of Life (2006). For her first hit single, Spice used the popular Eighty Five
riddim to create "Fight Over Man", which was released in 2005 and became popular in the dancehall scene. In 2007, she went on a hiatus due to the birth of her son, but soon returned to performing.
2008–2012: Breakthrough and Continued Success In late 2008, Spice collaborated with fellow dancehall artist
Vybz Kartel on the single "Romping Shop", which samples "
Miss Independent" by
Ne-Yo. The song quickly achieved international recognition, receiving immense rotation on mainstream urban stations in the US. "Romping Shop" spent 15 weeks on the
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at number 76. Shortly after its release, the song was banned by the
Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation due to its explicit lyrical content. "Ramping Shop" was ranked number 9 on both
Pitchfork's list of the 50 Best Dancehall Songs of All Time and
Billboard's 12 Best Dancehall & Reggaeton Choruses of the 21st Century. In July 2009, Spice released her self-titled debut EP on July 17, 2009, by Truck Back Records and Zojak, this EP features three songs: "Swear," "Inna Di Light," and "Whoa." In 2010, she released the song "Jim Screechie". In 2011, she released a remix for her single "Fun" featuring American rapper
Missy Elliott and collaborated with
Mýa on the single "Take Him Out" from Mýa's sixth studio album
K.I.S.S. (Keep It Sexy & Simple). Spice went on to perform the song with Mýa during that year's annual
Reggae Sumfest. A music video for "Take Him Out," directed by Ras Kassa, was released in 2012.
2013–2016: So Mi Like It and growing popularity 2013 In April 2013, Spice released her first project as a producer, the Gal Click
riddim, featuring some of her fellow female dancehall artists. In September, she collaborated with dancehall artist
Alkaline on the single "Only Ting Mi Want". She gained further recognition with her single "So Mi Like It", which was released later that year. The accompanying music video, released in January 2014, became the most viewed music video by a female Jamaican artist on
YouTube, having over 129 million views as of February 2025. A remix of "So Mi Like It" featuring rapper
Busta Rhymes was later released on his mixtape
Catastrophic 2 in March. Spice starred as Candy in her first theatrical feature film, "Destiny", which was released on 2 April 2014. She also recorded the single "No Push Over" for the film's soundtrack. Her second EP,
So Mi Like It, named after the single of the same name, was released on 2 December 2014. It debuted at number 14 on the
Billboard Top Reggae Albums chart. The EP features five songs, including "So Mi Like It", "Like A Man" and "Conjugal Visit" (featuring
Vybz Kartel). The music video for "Conjugal Visit" garnered over 2 million views on
WorldStarHipHop within one day, and as of 2023, has surpassed 100 million views. The same month, she was featured along with soca artist
Bunji Garlin on rapper
ASAP Ferg's song "Jolly" from his mixtape
Ferg Forever. In May 2015, Spice released "Needle Eye", a song inspired by
Shabba Ranks's 1987 song of the same name. In May 2016, she was featured alongside
Jeremih on
Kid Ink's single "Nasty". The following month, she released the single "Indicator", based on a dance move of the same name. For 2016's
Red Bull Culture Clash, she joined forces with
Mixpak and won the clash over
Wiz Khalifa &
Taylor Gang and others. At the
MOBO Awards, Spice was the only woman nominated for Best Reggae Act and the first female dancehall artist ever nominated in this category.
2017–2019: Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta and Captured In April 2017, Spice released the single "Sheet". In June, she appeared on a remix of
Jax Jones's "
You Don't Know Me". In August, she was featured alongside
Sean Kingston and
Lady Leshurr on
Charlie Sloth's "I Can Do" from his album
The Plug. After making a guest appearance in season six of
VH1's reality TV series
Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, Spice joined the show as a regular cast member in season seven and was promoted to main cast in Season 8. After a brief social media hiatus, Spice posted a picture of herself with dramatically light skin on Instagram on 22 October 2018. The picture went viral, leading many to assume she had whitened her skin. She eventually admitted to the stunt, whitening her skin to raise awareness about the issue of
colorism within the black community. Spice addressed the issue in her single "Black Hypocrisy", which was released the next day along with an accompanying music video. Serving as the lead single for her debut mixtape, "Black Hypocrisy" debuted at number one on the
Billboard Reggae Digital Song Sales chart. Spice's debut mixtape,
Captured, was released on 2 November 2018 under her own independent record label Spice Official Entertainment. The mixtape was released following a legal dispute with her record label over the release of her long-delayed debut album.
Captured debuted at number one on the
Billboard Reggae Albums chart. Besides "Black Hypocrisy", several tracks from the project such as "Romantic Mood", "Cool It" and "Genie", were also highlighted with accompanying music videos uploaded to her YouTube channel. In May 2019, Spice joined
Vybz Kartel for the single "Back Way" and appeared alongside a doppelganger of the then-imprisoned dancehall artist in the accompanying music video. In October, she appeared with
Sean Paul on the remix of
Stylo G's "Dumpling", which peaked at number three on the
Billboard Reggae Digital Song Sales chart. The same month, she released the single "Tables Turn" with an accompanying music video on YouTube. In November, she was featured on
Krept and Konan's track "First Time" alongside
Tory Lanez. "First Time" became her first entry on the
UK Singles Chart, where it debuted at number 63.
2020–2022: 10 and Emancipated In March 2020, Spice announced the release of her debut studio album, which was executively produced by
Shaggy. Its lead single, "Frenz", was released to streaming platforms on 18 December 2020. "Go Down Deh", featuring Shaggy and
Sean Paul, was released as the album's second lead single on 30 April 2021. Its accompanying music video quickly amassed millions of views, the song becoming a success on streaming platforms. "Go Down Deh" was ranked number 48 on
NPR Music's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2021. It also made her the first female Jamaican dancehall artist to have a Platinum certification in Canada, with the song getting Platinum Single certification on February 6, 2024. With the song's success, Spice performed with Sean Paul and Shaggy on
Good Morning America,
The Wendy Williams Show and
Jimmy Kimmel Live! Spice's debut studio album,
10, was eventually released on 6 August 2021, debuting at number six on the
Billboard Reggae Albums chart. It was nominated for
Best Reggae Album at the
64th Grammy Awards in 2022. In November 2021, Shaggy confirmed Spice's departure from VP Records. Following that, she announced the release of her second studio album,
Emancipated. Its lead single, "Clap Clap", was released in July 2022. In August, Spice shared via
Twitter a short snippet of the uncensored music video for "Tape Measure", the album's second single, which quickly went viral for its graphic visuals.
Emancipated was released on 26 August 2022, debuting at number seven on the
Billboard Reggae Albums chart. A deluxe edition was released in 2023. The same month, she was featured alongside
Capella Grey on
Karlie Redd's song "Werk", and on
Stefflon Don's "Clockwork". In September, she collaborated with
Yemi Alade on the single "Bubble It". In October, she appeared on
Skeng and
Nicki Minaj's second remix of Skeng's single "Likkle Miss" called "THE FINE NINE REMIX" on which she was featured alongside
Destra Garcia,
Pamputtae,
Lisa Mercedez,
London Hill,
Lady Leshurr,
Patrice Roberts and Dovey Magnum.
2023-present: Health scare and Mirror 25 Following a health scare in November, Spice returned to social media and on 14 March 2023, she posted pictures on her Twitter and
Instagram depicting pregnancy, which quickly went viral in the next few hours. Rumors had circulated online for days regarding whether she was pregnant until the release of her song "God A Bless Me" on 17 March, and the accompanying music video in which she celebrated her "rebirth" after her hiatus. Spice took to Instagram Live later that day and broke down the full story of her ordeal, speaking on her dramatic weight loss, four surgeries, relearning to talk, walk and sing and briefly dying during a surgery in the
Dominican Republic. A week after releasing "God A Bless Me", Spice released a gospel-reggae track "Spice Marley" and its accompanying music video to YouTube, paying tribute to her late father, Anthony Hamilton, who died in her youth. Spice made her long-anticipated return to stage following her six-month hiatus, taking the stage at the Start Di Fun Music Festival in the
Cayman Islands. On 5 May 2023,
Tamarac's Vice Mayor Marlon awarded Spice the Key to the Region of
Florida in recognition of her work in music. At the
2023 BET Awards, she participated in a tribute performance for Lifetime Achievement Award recipient
Busta Rhymes alongside fellow Jamaican artists
Skillibeng and
Dexta Daps. "Clap Clap", the lead single of Spice's 2022 album
Emancipated, was featured in the premiere episode of the
Netflix original series
Survival of the Thickest "Keep Your Plants Watered, Bitch" which aired on 13 July 2023. Spice became the center of controversy when the
Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta episode "Mena-ce to Society" aired in August. During a verbal altercation with co-star
Erica Mena, Spice made comments on Mena's parenting and mentioned her son. Mena responded violently, flipping a table and attacking Spice. While leaving the establishment, Mena called Spice a "blue monkey" and insisted she should have died in surgery. The scene quickly went viral and ultimately resulted in Mena's removal from the show in September. Spice was featured on the single "WOW" on Masicka's second studio album
Generation of Kings in December 2023. In August 2024, Spice released her third studio album
Mirror 25 via her own label, Spice Official Entertainment, under license to
Empire Distribution. The album features guest appearances from
Ky-Mani Marley,
Busta Rhymes,
Lola Brooke,
Patoranking,
Jada Kingdom,
Pamputtae and Chronic Law In its lead single "Intro," features cameo voiceovers from
Bounty Killer,
Nicki Minaj and
Vybz Kartel among others. Spice released four singles leading up to the album's release: "2085 Tea", "Round Round" with Busta Rhymes, "Gangster" with Chronic Law and "Ex Boyfriend". In 2025, Spice was one of the headliners of
Boomtown Fair. ==Business venture==