Her name is Spice and she is everything nice.

The undisputed Queen of Dancehall and star of the hit reality series Love and Hip-Hop Atlanta just released her third album, Mirror 25, to celebrate a staggering 25 years in the music industry. Fans loved what they saw reflecting from the artist.

Dropped on August 9th, the chart-topping album immediately made history, debuting at #1 in Canada, #2 in the United States and United Kingdom on the All Genres Top Albums iTunes chart, and #1 at the Reggae Top Albums iTunes chart simultaneously, making Spice the first Jamaican female artist to debut on the highest chart entry on the all-genres chart!

But life has always been nice for the artist, who has had her fair share of haters as a darker-skinned artist in the music industry.

Here, the Grammy Award-nominated singer talks exclusively with MadameNoire about her rise to fame, her new album, working with Nicki Minaj and Busta Rhymes and her goal to use her “voice for the voiceless” to end colorism in the black community.

MadameNoire: What is the inspiration behind your new album, Mirror 25.
Spice: I’m doing it independently. I’m the producer. I’m just so excited for this project. I’m celebrating 25 years in a male-dominated business. I decided to call the album Mirror 25, because I’m basically mirroring all the things that I’ve been through, not just in music, but for the past 25 years, I’ve been reflecting on all the things that I’ve managed to overcome, and I came
up with that name because I’m just in an era of reflection. And the 25 marks the 25 years that I’ve been in business. I started very early, from 1999, so I’m super excited about this project.

MadammeNoire: What do you attribute your longevity in this industry to?
It’s not a small thing. It’s a very big thing. One of the things that I give the praise, to is obviously my God, because it took a lot of faith, it took a lot of prayer, and smart work to still be here and to be relevant, but I feel like it’s also my creativity because I’m different. I’m unique and I have a lot of spice. And the fan base that I have played an integral part as well. My besties, as I call them, just have this unwavering support throughout the years that has kept me motivated to still be here.

MadameNoire: Mirror 25 is an exciting melting pot of different genres of music, from Country to Hip-Hop, R&B, Afro beats, and Gospel music. You are clearly not just thinking outside the box; you are breaking that box apart. What excites you about recording songs in so many different genres?
My fan base is so very diverse. It excites me to know that it doesn’t matter which part of the world you are in, you are going to be able to take a song from this project that you can relate to. My fan base is all over the world. I started one of the songs, speaking a little Indian. I have people in India that listen to my music. I have people in Africa. That’s why I did an Afrobeats song. I wanted to include all of my fan base, and that’s why I went so all over with this project to include my fans.

Source: Mackinley Madhere from Spex Photography / Mackinley Madhere from Spex Photography

MadameNoire: You became the first female Dancehall artist with the most charted entries on Billboard reggae albums since the chart’s existence and in the history of Dancehall. How does it feel to literally be a record breaker?
That’s a great question. I am so humbled. So grateful. It feels like a mission accomplished because that’s what you work for. You work to break records and to set up a legacy.

MadameNoire: Tell me more about your collaboration with Busta Rhymes on the track “Round Round.” How did that collaboration come about?
I’ve known Busta Rhymes for over ten years and this is actually our second song together. My hit song “​​So Mi Like It” has over 100 million views on YouTube. He actually jumped on that record over ten years ago on a remix. When I did that song, I was actually at a record label, so that’s why I’m so happy now. I’m excited because now I’m independent. I’m free, I have the leverage of really putting out this music and doing it in the right way. [Busta Rhymes] and I are friends, we’re cool. He also comes from Jamaica. So when I heard the song and I heard the little country and I heard the Jamaican part I’m like, “There’s only one person that can really pull this together.” And Busta Rhymes knows how to deliver for a hip-hop and he knows how to deliver for Jamaica.

MadameNoire: You talk about being an independent artist now and being free. What do you think you couldn’t do when you were signed to a major label that you can now do?
I didn’t have the pleasure of releasing music as how I should have. I didn’t have the pleasure of putting out an album because I wanted to. So this for me is like a milestone. And I have to talk about Shaggy when I speak about things like that, because Shaggy is really the person who came into my career and metamorphosed my entire journey, because he’s the one who got me out of that record deal with my album. So big Up to Shaggy, he’s the reason for the
season.

Source: Mackinley Madhere from Spex Photography / Mackinley Madhere from Spex Photography

MadameNoire: You’ve worked with Shaggy, you’ve worked with Busta Rhymes. Are there any artists that you’d love to work with that you haven’t had the privilege of working with thus far?
I always wanted to do a song with Nicki Minaj, and I just did a song with her. She was that dream collab. So now I’m going for Beyoncé. We have to speak it into being.

MadameNoire: How do you think that black women can support each other better in the music industry?
Collabs. That’s a good one. Collabs plays a major part in showing togetherness. When women come together, we’re stronger. But often the media wants to create this illusion and puts us together and separates us as well and I hate that for us. I feel like once we come together, we are stronger and a force to reckon with.

MadameNoire: You are a force because you’re not afraid to confront some of the more difficult issues in the black community. In 2018 you addressed the issue of colorism in the Black community in the music video for the song “Black Hypocrisy.” You even wiped your social media and debuted a picture of you with bleached skin and blonde hair. Which was definitely controversial. Why do you think it was important to bring attention to this issue?
I feel like as a black woman, I was going through colorism because people used to comment all the time that they don’t understand how I have so much money and I wouldn’t bleach my skin and they used to say if I was a lighter complexion, I would have reached further. Those comments were a call to action for me. I’m the voice for the voiceless. It was time for me to remind our black girls that they are beautiful no matter what. I wanted to use my voice to raise awareness for colorism because it was plaguing our community and that was my way of protesting against it because I wanted to create shock value. I wanted to have the world’s undivided attention when I spoke on this topic, because it was always being swept under the rug. When I used makeup to appear that I was lighter, I knew I would have caught the attention of the people so that we could have a conversation. That’s why I did “Black Hypocrisy,” because it was very hypocritical because it wasn’t coming from Caucasians, it was coming from our black woman.

Source: Mackinley Madhere from Spex Photography / Mackinley Madhere from Spex Photography

MadameNoire: Another thing that was slightly controversial was your decision to join the cast of “Love and Hip Hop Atlanta” in 2008, what made you make the foray into reality television?”
They reached out to me when they were coming to Jamaica. I was like the Queen of Jamaica. They wanted me to show them around. And I fell in love with the camera. And I’m an open book. I’m very close with my fans. I show them my world. I’m just as natural as it gets. Coming from the Caribbean, our dream is to work to become international. I saw that as a way to use the platform to introduce myself to the American audience. And I felt like it was just a good opportunity. I went and did my audition just like anyone else. It this has helped to catapult my career in the American market.

MadameNoire: Our forever President Barack Obama listed your song ‘Go Down Deh’ featuring Shaggy and Sean Paul–the lead single from your debut album ’10,’ in his 2021 annual list of favorite songs. How did that make you feel?
Let’s talk about it. That’s not a small thing. It’s a big thing. It’s a big thing. I was screaming around the room and calling my friends. I still freak out and go crazy. I was super excited. And I love Barack Obama. Okay, let’s be very clear. So I was very excited over, you know, when
he added my song to his top list for the year.

MadameNoire: Speaking of politics, as a black woman in America, how does it feel to see a black woman, Kamala Harris, running for president?
It feels good. It gives me joy in my spirit and it feels good that we are just now accepted in high places.

Source: Mackinley Madhere from Spex Photography / Mackinley Madhere from Spex Photography

MadameNoire: You were named by Vogue as the “Fashion Forward Queen of Dancehall.” You hold it down on stage in pink wigs and blue wigs crystals from head to toe. Who inspires your style, and how did you become so fearless about fashion?
My style is inspired by my Jamaican culture. When I discovered dancehall and studying the culture, I realized the loudness in your dressing just have to speak.

MadameNoire: What advice do you have for any girl in Jamaica or worldwide who wants to follow in your footsteps?
My advice would just be to be yourself. Never try to be anyone else. Always remain true to who you are and always remember that prayer and hard work, it conquers all. I also want people to remember that loses are lessons, so don’t be afraid to fail.

MadameNoire: What advice would you have for your younger self?
I would tell that little girl to prepare herself for being at the top.

RELATED CONTENT: Dancehall Artist Spice Knows She Was “So Wrong” For Fat-Shaming LHHATL Co-Star Tokyo Vanity

The post Spice ‘Queen Of Dancehall‘ Talks Colorism And Making History With ‘Mirror 25’: ‘Black Girls Are Beautiful No Matter What’ [Exclusive] appeared first on MadameNoire.