Jamaican dancehall artist Spice recently shared with Forbes in an interview that her perspective on money has changed since she became a millionaire.
As a younger artist, Spice, a dancehall performer and reality star on the show “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta,” told Forbes that she valued money to survive in the face of poverty and harsh living conditions growing up in Spanish Town, Jamaica.
Humble Beginnings to Millionaire
“I would say I come from humble beginnings, so I would say my childhood was from the poorer class,” the Grammy-nominated artist told Forbes regarding a question about her economic situation from her past. “I have five siblings. My five siblings and I used to sleep on one bed in a one-bedroom house with my mom and dad.”
It was these hardships that spurred her to success, she said.
“My childhood is really what inspires me because I never want to go back there. I know what it’s like to go to bed without food. I know what it’s like to have just one pair of shoes. So that’s where I’m coming from.”
However, now that she has amassed a net worth estimated at $5 million and has become a mother of two, she is focused on long-term financial planning and securing her resources for future generations.
“What does money mean to me now? I feel like money now means generational wealth because getting money now, you know, it’s not that it brings happiness, but it’s able to build generational wealth,” said Spice, who recently announced she was pregnant with her third child.
Spice, whose real name is Grace Latoya Hamilton, is thinking about generational wealth and how to ensure that her family can inherit her legacy.
“My slogan right now is ‘from homeless to greatness’ because I was once homeless. I lost my house to a fire and I had nothing. I came from zero dollars. I know what it’s like to look at my bank account and see nothing there, and now I’m a millionaire,” she said, proudly.
“So I feel like in the place where I’m at now, it’s about building generational wealth. That’s what money does for me, and that’s what I was eager to do: set up a life for my kids that I didn’t have. And I really feel like I’ve done that, so I feel like money now just means generational wealth,” added Spice, who said her immediate family members are now financially secure with her help.
Up from Jamaica
Spice’s rise to fame started at a dancehall competition at the age of 18 at Jamaica’s flagship and staple dancehall event, Sting, in 2000.
Throughout the 2000s, she remained consistent in pushing music and collaborating with other artists.
In 2017, after topping charts on Billboard and gaining significant engagement on Worldstar Hip Hop, Spice made a guest appearance on season six of VH1’s reality TV show “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta.” She then joined the show as a regular cast member in season seven.
Colorism Controversy
She used her platform on the show to bring attention to colorism and the discrimination faced by women with dark complexions. So it was even more shocking to Spice and many online when her former friend, fellow “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” castmate Erica Mena, who identifies herself as Afro-Latina and is of a lighter hue, called Spice, who often wears blue hair, a “blue monkey.”
This has caused a lot of outrage, with the issue trending as on social media site X, with many users calling for the show’s producers to fire Mena for her perceived anti-Blackness.
