She is the dancehall queen who has made an impact – not least when jumping on her fans. Now she is bringing her X-rated show to Notting Hill carnival
As Jamaica’s leading female voice in dancehall, Spice certainly knows how to make an entrance. When she stepped out at the Culture Clash soundclash at London’s O2 Arena in 2016, it was into the chaos of balloons, airhorns and baying ravers. She strode to the front of the stage, demanded a rewind from the DJ and silence from the crowd, then jump-dropped into the splits, calling on the rival team leader Wiz Khalifa, the posterboy for fragile masculinity (who is scared to eat a whole banana in public, for fear of looking gay) to “eat mi pum pum”. The crowd went insane. Her crew Mixpak (featuring Popcaan and Jubilee) were the bookie’s underdogs, but walked away with that year’s trophy.
Spice – Grace Hamilton when she’s off duty – grew up in Portmore, near Kingston, and wasn’t always destined for dancehall greatness. She was the middle child of five siblings and came from what she calls “humble beginnings”. Her childhood years were dedicated to Sunday school and choir. It wasn’t until she started high school that she discovered the dancehall sound and realised that she could use her well-trained pipes for less godly lyrical content.