By ESENDOM
November 22, 2025
Lea en español: Ice Spice en la cocina de Tokischa: Cuando el Bronx vuelve al Cibao
In a Live that lit up Twitch and social feeds, Ice Spice did not just throw on an apron—she said it plainly: she’s Dominican. Streaming from Tokischa’s home in the Dominican Republic, The Bronx rapper returned to Quisqueya for the first time in 20 years to cook pollo guisado with moro and publicly claim her mother’s roots.
“I’m in the DR for the first time in 20 years… I hadn’t been here since I was five,” she smiled, introducing her host as “the Dominican princess Tokischa.” Toki shot back, “Dominican queen, babes,” and Ice sealed it: “Okay, I’m the Dominican princess; she’s the Dominican queen.” Within seconds, the live turned what many suspected into something undeniable: Ice Spice, in her own voice, placing herself inside the global Dominican family.
The November 6 stream showed both artists cooking pollo guisado with moro, rice, beans, and stewed chicken—one of the most emblematic dishes on Dominican tables. Beyond cute social content, the moment carried weight: one of the world’s most talked-about rappers was back on her mother’s and grandparents’ soil—not at a resort, but in the kitchen, where so much Dominican identity is made.
Bio: Isis Naija Gaston, a Bronx Kid with Cibaeña Blood
Behind the stage name Ice Spice is Isis Naija Gaston, born January 1, 2000, in The Bronx. Daughter of Joseph Gaston, an African American underground rapper, and Charina Almanzar, a Dominican, Isis grew up between her dad’s place and her maternal grandparents’ apartment on Fordham Road, surrounded by Spanglish, rap, merengue, and neighborhood life. As she noted during the Live with Tokischa, her grandmother was born in Moca and raised in Salcedo, and her grandfather hails from Santiago.
The eldest of five, she spent her childhood with grandparents and cousins in The Bronx and Yonkers, graduating from Sacred Heart High School. At seven, she fell in love with hip-hop via Lil’ Kim and Nicki Minaj; through her dad she discovered Jay-Z, 50 Cent, and Wu-Tang Clan. She wrote freestyles in her phone notes, dreaming of rapping like Nicki. That’s where Ice Spice was born—first as an Instagram finsta handle, then as a global brand.
She attended SUNY Purchase, played college volleyball, then left and returned to The Bronx. She worked at Wendy’s, The Gap, and a street market (which she quit the next day) before betting everything on music.
From “Munch (Feelin’ U)” to Y2K!: the Meteoric Rise
In 2020 she met producer RiotUSA and dropped her first tracks in 2021, but the breakthrough came in August 2022 with “Munch (Feelin’ U)”, which went viral on TikTok and caught Drake’s attention. She signed with 10K Projects and Capitol Records, released “Bikini Bottom” and “In Ha Mood,” and in January 2023 delivered her EP Like..?, which entered the Billboard 200 and yielded the “Princess Diana” remix with Nicki Minaj (Top 10 on the Hot 100).
Throughout 2023 she became a global phenomenon with three more Top 10 collaborations: “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2” (PinkPantheress), “Karma” (Taylor Swift), and “Barbie World” (Nicki Minaj & Aqua). She was the only female rapper with four Top 10 songs that year.
In 2024 she released Y2K!, her debut album, locking in her formula: Bronx drill, heavy beats, straight-shooting lyrics, and a Y2K aesthetic. Her highlights include MTV VMA Best New Artist (2023), People’s Choice Award for New Artist (2023), the BMI Impact Award, and four Grammy nominations (2024), including Best New Artist.
Dominican Roots: From El Cibao to the World
Ice Spice has been clear: her mother is Dominican, she grew up with her maternal grandparents, and her maternal line is rooted in the Cibao. In interviews she’s said she understands Spanish better than she speaks it and mainly uses it with people who do not speak English—an experience shared by many second-generation Dominicans.
That is why the Live with Tokischa carries so much symbolic weight: it is not just cute content—it is a global artist returning to the Caribbean, reconnecting with her family’s sazón, and telling the world—without press releases or campaigns—that her Dominicanness is not a Twitter rumor; it’s an essential part of who she is.
What Does It Mean When Ice Spice Says on Camera, “I am Dominican”?
In times of borders, passports, and toxic comment sections about who’s “really” Dominican, moments like this matter. Ice Spice embodies a generation that:
Is born and raised in New York, but grows up on stories from the Cibao
Bumps to drill, trap, and pop, but also bachata, merengue, and dembow
Thinks, dreams, and writes mostly in English, but keeps Spanish in the ear, ready for the grandma, the kitchen, or the right conversation
When a figure as visible as Ice Spice sits down on camera, cooks pollo guisado con moro with Tokischa, and places herself somewhere between “Dominican princess” and Dominican-American, she gives a powerful mirror to thousands of young people in migrant communities who often feel they do not fully fit here or there.
In that pot where Bronx drill, Twitch, Cibaeño sazón, and Spanglish simmer together, there is a simple truth: Ice Spice is Dominican—in her own way, with her accent, her music, and her story. And today, by returning to the Dominican Republic and publicly claiming her roots, she joins the long list of artists proving that Dominicanness does not fit a single mold or remain in one region—it spreads, like her music, across the globe.
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