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📅 2000 🌍 Portmore, Jamaica 🎵 Dancehall

Grace Latoya Hamilton (born 6 August 1982), known professionally as Spice, is a Jamaican dancehall recording artist, singer and songwriter. 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 and 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 any hit record. While on tour in the UK, Spice earned the attention of Baby Cham, who later introduced her to well-known producer Dave Kelly. From there, she released a string of singles for Kelly's Madhouse Records label, including her first single for the 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 versioned the popular Eighty Five riddim to create "Fight Over Man", which became popular in the dancehall scene. 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, debuting on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and receiving immense rotation on mainstream urban stations, including HOT 97 and Power 105.1. Shortly after its release, the song was banned by the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation due to its explicit lyrical content. "Romping Shop" was ranked at 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 2009, Spice received the Excellence in Music and Entertainment (EME) Award for "Female Deejay of the Year". At the Youth View Awards in Jamaica, she won three awards: "Best Female Performer", "Favourite Local Female Artiste" and "Young, Hot & Hype Female". In July 2009, she signed to VP Records for a multi-album deal.