Grace Hamilton

"Romping Shop" was ranked number 9 on both Pitchforks list of the 50 Best Dancehall Songs of All Time and Billboards 12 Best Dancehall & Reggaeton Choruses of the 21st Century.

Grace Latoya Hamilton (born 6 August 1982), known professionally as Spice, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay and singer.

Known as the Queen of Dancehall, Spice is recognised as one of the most prominent dancehall artists in the world.

She is known for her aggressive flow, musical versatility and outspoken lyrics.

Grace Latoya Hamilton was born on August 6, 1982, in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, Jamaica, and raised in Portmore.

Her father died when she was nine years old.

As a child, she used to attend her church regularly and lead the choir.

She spent part of her childhood living with her grandparents in Finsbury Park, London, where she also attended school before returning to Jamaica.

While a student at St. Catherine High School, she frequently participated in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) festival in the music category and earned several medals throughout the years.

Although she wanted to become a chartered accountant, she decided to pursue a music career.

Following that, she enrolled at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts to study music and drama.

She then began experimenting with dancehall music and soon after generated interest in her community and its environs with her deejaying abilities at local stage shows.

Spice first gained recognition after performing at the annual dancehall festival Sting in 2000.

Spice 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".

She released her first single "Complain" for record producer Dave Kelly's Madhouse Records in 2003.

She continued to release the singles "Right There" and "Hype", even being featured on songs with Jimmy Cliff and Beenie Man in 2004 and 2006, respectively.

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.

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.

Spice had her first major success with the controversial single "Romping Shop" with Vybz Kartel in 2009.

In July 2009, Spice signed a recording contract with VP Records.

In 2010, she released the single "Jim Screechie".

In 2011, she released a remix for her song "Fun" featuring rapper Missy Elliott and collaborated with Mýa on the single "Take Him Out" from Mýa's sixth album K.I.S.S. (Keep It Sexy & Simple).

Spice also performed the song with Mýa at Reggae Sumfest that year.

A music video for "Take Him Out" was released in 2012.

In April 2013, Spice released her first project as a producer, the Gal Click riddim, featuring some of her fellow female dancehall artists.

She subsequently signed with VP Records and released her debut EP, So Mi Like It (2014), which was preceded by a single of the same name.

During the 2016 MOBO Awards, Spice became the first woman dancehall artist to ever be nominated for Best Reggae Act, as well as the only woman to be nominated for the category overall.

She appeared as a regular cast member on VH1's reality television series Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, which depicted her pursuit of reaching an international level in her music career.

Spice's first full-length project, a mixtape titled Captured (2018), was released independently and debuted at number one on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.

Her long-delayed debut studio album, 10 (2021), was nominated for Best Reggae Album at the 64th Grammy Awards in 2022.

Following her departure from VP, she independently released her second studio album, Emancipated (2022), under her own label, Spice Official Entertainment, from which she also released the deluxe version of her 2022 album in September 2023.