Grace "Spice" Hamilton is a Grammy-nominated artist who has been dubbed “The Queen of Dancehall.” She’s also the first Jamaican female dancehall artist in her genre to reach one billion views on YouTube collectively. Her 25-year-long career encompasses many milestones, and she continues to work daily to grow and diversify her legacy. Whether you love her for the bold personality that she shows as a castmate on Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta, her feel-good party music, or her beauty and fashion influence – she’s someone whose presence is magnetic.
But Spice the person is very different from what fans and supporters experience. When asked what readers may be surprised to learn about her she said: that she’s a homebody, likes to throw down in the kitchen, and that she’s a Christian who takes her worship seriously. During this convo, she gave us a glimpse into her life and background in her career journey that audiences may not always get to see on TV or on social media. Check out the exclusive conversation with xoNecole below.
xoNecole: When you’re not on-camera or performing, what does your life look like?
Spice: When I do get a few days off, it normally goes to my kids. I try to dedicate all my free time to being a mother, which is me taking the wigs off, pulling out my natural hair, cooking, and being with them – just having regular days. The days I can be Grace Hamilton are my best and most fun times. That’s also what I love about my artistry. My fans know when I have blue hair, I'm being Spice. But when they see the black hair, they know I probably just want to be a mother and be alone.
xoN: Balance is important, especially for a twenty-five-year career. Can you talk to me about your evolution as an artist? What lessons have you learned?
Spice: I’ve learned that consistency is the key to success. I feel like that’s why I’m relevant to this day. Being in a male-dominated business from 1999 to now is nothing but consistency and hard work. Also, just having faith in God and knowing that He will deliver me. I’ve learned that losses are lessons. Sometimes things happen in your life for a reason. You just have to learn from them, pick up the pieces, and move on. That’s why I called the album MIRROR 25. I've been doing a lot of reflection of all the things that I‘ve overcome – things like heartache, betrayal, music industry struggles, colorism, and more. So when I look in the mirror, I definitely do a lot of self-reflection and self-healing. Twenty-five years hasn’t been a walk in the park, and now I have a lot to celebrate.
"Sometimes things happen in your life for a reason. You just have to learn from them, pick up the pieces, and move on. That’s why I called the album MIRROR 25. I've been doing a lot of reflection of all the things that I‘ve overcome – things like heartache, betrayal, music industry struggles, colorism, and more."
xoN: During that self-reflection period is there anything new you’ve learned about yourself, negative or positive? Would you mind sharing those reflections?
Spice: The good thing I’ve learned is that I’m a warrior. I feel like I’m very strong – it doesn’t matter what’s going on. I defeated a lot of naysayers who didn’t think I’d make it this far. The bad thing I’ve learned is that I allow myself to be caught in the trap of the naysayers. Sometimes, people will literally come up to provoke you, and I’ve always been the one to fall in the trap. It’s like people say something, and I just have to defend myself. I need to realize that with fame, that just comes with it.
Photo by Mackinley Madhere from Spex Photography
xoN: Also, I wanna address one of the issues you touched on earlier. You mentioned colorism. I’m in my 30s, and I still meet women my age who feel uncomfortable with their skin complexion. If you could give a piece of advice to women like that who struggle with self-confidence due to colorism, what would you say?
Spice: I’d say, if I can make it, so can you. I remember when people would make me feel like I had to bleach my skin to appear to be lighter and have a certain image. When I did "Colorism" back in 2018 and appeared to be lighter, it was because of conversations like this. I wanted to remind girls that look like me that they too can make it big in Hollywood.
xoN: Okay, let’s get a bit into the new project. How do you hope this album makes women feel?
Spice: I hope it makes them feel happy and accepted. I want them to live in their truth. It doesn’t matter their size or race. I just want people to hear my music and just want to dance and have fun. And most of my music is like that, where it just brings good energy and lets people know it’s time to dance and have fun.
"I hope it makes them feel happy and accepted. I want them to live in their truth. It doesn’t matter their size or race. I just want people to hear my music and just want to dance and have fun. And most of my music is like that, where it just brings good energy and lets people know it’s time to dance and have fun."
xoN: There’s a lot of vulnerability on this album. What were your emotions like when you put everything out?
Spice: I had mixed feelings because I’ve been in the business for 25 years. I know how people receive certain things, but I also didn’t want the controversy to overshadow the message. In the "2085 Tea," I dressed like an older person talking to my younger self. Even though the song is controversial, it’s real-life experiences. These are things that happened to me and I overcame, and I know there's a lot of women that go through similar stuff, and I wanted to remind them that we’re all human. But people who were parts of my past are gonna come out and vocally express I didn't have to reflect on that, but who are they to reflect on my past?
xoN: Generally, is it important to you to set the record straight on conversations related to yourself or do you prefer to just let people think whatever they want?
Spice: I’m my own voice. A lot of times, fans feel like I’m bigger than answering. But I don’t feel that way. I’m a human first, and if someone paints a picture of me that’s not true, then I need to be open and honest with my fans so they hear my side of my story. I’ve worked hard for 25 years to build a brand, and I can’t just allow someone to tarnish my reputation. So unfortunately, I’m someone who will come out and voice my opinion on things that aren’t true.
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Feature image by Mackinley Madhere from Spex Photography
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While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
Feature image courtesy
The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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And he elaborated on his decision during his recent visit to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. "Listen, when you calm down you can focus," the 49-year-old mogul said. "I've been good to me."
He also explained how his financial status can complicate things and being celibate helps him see things clearer.
"[Money is] when things start getting complicated, things start getting confusing cause people come in for different reasons," he said. "If you go on a date but you have no interest in anything, I can see you now. I said, ‘God damn, girl, you fine, but you ain’t got nothing going on."
When Stephen asked if The Accomplice author has ever been married, he responded with, "I am safe. I’m not a happy hostage. I’m here. I’m free. I made some mistakes, just not that one."
Later on in the interview, 50 clarified that he still wants a romantic relationship and possible marriage down the line, but that's not his focus at the moment. "I want someone I can love in my life too, just not right now. I’m fine."
50 has had a lot of high-profile relationships, from Vivica A. Fox to Ciara. Here's a look back at his relationships below.
Shaniqua Tompkins
Before 50 became famous, he was dating Shaniqua Tompkins and they share a child, 27-year-old Marquise Jackson. For years, the former couple have been involved in a back-and-forth over their son and eventually, the rapper's relationship with Marquise turned sour.
Meagan Good
Meagan Good confirmed in a Hollywood Unlock interview that she and the Queens-bred rapper did date in the past. They reportedly dated from 2002 to 2003, and she starred in his music video for "21 Questions."
“Just to bring clarity on that, that was over a decade ago, and it was for about a year. … I kept it under the radar intentionally because…at that time in my career, I’d just come off of Biker Boyz, I’d just done the music video, and my career was going in a really great way," she explained. "And what I didn’t want was my connection to him to be the catalyst in any type of success that I had."
Vivica A. Fox
Photo by KMazur/WireImage
50's relationship with Vivica A. Fox might be his most memorable one yet. After publicly complimenting her on her dress at the 2003 BET Awards, they showed up at the MTV VMAs together later that year. Their love affair was brief, but their public feud lasted years. Two decades later, they seem to have both put the petty past behind them.
Joy Bryant
Joy Bryant and the "In da Club" rapper reportedly dated from 2005 to 2006. The two were co-stars in Get Rich or Die Tryin' and had impeccable chemistry. However, it seems they couldn't replicate that chemistry offscreen.
Ciara
Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage
The "Can't Leave Him Alone" collaborators dated from 2007 to 2010. In 2012, Ciara revealed why they ultimately called it quits during an interview with the Ricky Smiley Morning Show. “He’s obviously far from afraid of anything that he can control. But at the same time — him not being afraid of anything in that way — the one thing he is afraid of is love," she said. "And with that being said, in a sense, he’s afraid of me.”
Chelsea Handler
The couple that surprised everyone the most was 50 Cent and Chelsea Handler. The comedian called the mogul her favorite ex. “I love 50 Cent, he was fun. He was just a sweetheart, and he was fun to be around,” Chelsea told Entertainment Tonight in January 2023. “My friends loved hanging out with him. I loved hanging out with him. It was a pretty short-lived romance. It was only two months. But yeah, I mean, If I saw him, I’d definitely have a drink with him.”
Daphne Joy
50 dated model Daphne Joy from 2011-2012, and they share a 12-year-old son, Sire. The Grammy award-winning artist is currently suing his ex for defamation after she accused him of rape. This accusation came after 50 asked for sole custody of their son following Lil Rod's sex abuse lawsuit against Diddy, which alleged that Daphne was a longtime sex worker. The model has also accused her ex of abuse in the past.
Jamira "Cuban Link" Haines
Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images
Jamira Haines, known on social media as Cuban Link, and 50 began dating in 2019. Since then, they have made many public appearances together and have been posted on each other's social media pages. However, it appears the law school student and the rapper are no longer together. While neither party has confirmed the breakup, Jamira has scraped her social media with any traces of 50.