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Taylor Swift's "Karma" was far from a relaxing thought for Ice Spice—in the best way possible.
While Ice Spice now counts Taylor among her closest celebrity friends, the rapper, whose real name is Isis Gaston, recently shared how emotional she became upon learning that the Eras Tour performer wanted to collaborate with her on the "Karma" remix.
Recalling the moment to Rolling Stone in an interview published on July 25, Ice said, “I remember my manager called me, and he usually texts, but he called, and he’s like, ‘You ready for this one?’ And I’m thinking it’s going to be some bad news or something. He’s like,‘Taylor Swift has a record for you to get on from her album.’ I’m playing it cool on the phone. I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s cool. Super cool.’ And then I hang up the phone and I’m hysterically crying.”
The emotional moment was captured on camera by her longtime producer Riot (real name: Ephrem Louis Lopez, Jr.) in her New Jersey apartment. “I’m in my walk-in closet, and I’m like, ‘Bro, this is not real life,’” she added. “Riot definitely filmed it. That’ll probably be in a documentary one day.”
However, not everyone was as thrilled about the collaboration. When Taylor announced Ice Spice would join her on the track—calling her "THE" artist to watch in a social media post—the "Munch" rapper was embroiled in online controversy related to Taylor’s then-boyfriend Matty Healy. This led to speculation about Taylor's intentions behind the collaboration.
Prior to Taylor and Matty’s brief relationship in 2023, Matty had appeared on a podcast where he laughed at offensive jokes about Ice. Despite the backlash, Ice addressed the controversy only months later, emphasizing that Matty had apologized and that she was a fan of his band, The 1975. “I actually was late as f--k to that,” she told Rolling Stone. “He apologized multiple times, but I didn’t realize how big of a deal it was to other people. I feel like people just wanted something to be mad about, I guess. I wasn’t angry or sad or anything. I was just kind of confused. I never really cared about that.”
What did upset Ice, however, was the “rude” speculation that detracted from her achievement. “Why would she not want to be my friend?” Ice inquired. “Taylor f--ks with me. She’s so funny. I think our personalities mesh really well.”
Their strong bond was evident as Ice joined Taylor to cheer on her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, during the NFL season and performed "Karma" with Taylor at the Eras Tour last year. The collaboration marked a significant milestone in Ice Spice's career, showcasing her rise in the music industry and her close friendship with one of pop music's biggest stars.
