Ice Spice reveals she was obsessed with the late New York drill rapper Pop Smoke when he first hit the music scene. In a recent interview with Billboard, the “Princess Diana” rapper is stepping into her prowess as Hip Hop’s newest rap princess. Read more about how Ice Spice drew inspiration from Pop Smoke’s early success inside.

In a viral clip shared by All Def Music, Ice Spice shares how Pop Smoke brought new life to drill music and their home state of New York. She talks about her early obsession with the late rapper, who was tragically murdered in 2020 just moments into the early days of his career.

“When Pop Smoke came out,” the “Munch” rapper said in the clip. “I was obsessed because I know drill was already mainstream in the UK but Pop Smoke brought this new life back to it [drill rap] and I was just obsessed.”

She goes on to reveal that Pop is one of her major influences.

“He’s one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to that,” she adds.

Though the drill scene can be credited to the likes of Chicago rapper Chief Keef in his early days, Brooklyn rapper and then 20 year old Pop Smoke brought it back with a vengeance. He added his raspy, deep toned voice over ominous 808 drum loops for the classic Brooklyn drill rap we know today. Producer and U.K. drill pioneer 808MeloBeats is responsible for Pop Smoke’s notable drill hits like “Welcome to the Party” and “Dior,” which went on to become popular street anthems across the nation and the world.

“He brought a lot of light to New York and defintiely paved a way for a lot current drill rappers,” Ice Spice credited Pop for the wave that she’s continuing in her music.

Billboard mentions that when Ice enrolled at SUNY Purchase, she intentionally sought out friendships with producers who could help her make her own impression in the drill scene.

“I had a couple producer friends on campus that never would f–king send me a beat. And I’m like, ‘Hello?’ Nobody wanted to send me beats but RIOT,” she said in the Billboard article when speaking of the producer — the son of WQHT (Hot 97) New York DJ/radio personality DJ Enuff. Riot became her go-to collaborator.

“Ice and RIOT are like Shaq and Kobe. You just don’t break it up. You let them do their thing, and they’re going to cook every night,” 10K’s Talamo mentioned to Billboard.

Ice Spice is giving credit where credit is due while making her own impressive waves in the industry and drill scene.

Check out a clip from the interview below: