Meet Spice, the Fashion-Forward Queen of Dancehall

Spice
Photography Alex Welsh

While there was a veritable runway of festival style on the ground at Red Stripe’s Reggae Sumfest last weekend, the most show-stopping look appeared when Spice hit center stage for her late-night set. The dancehall singer arrived on a four-poster bed, replete with satin sheets and fluffy marabou pillows, to perform her bawdy hit, “Sheet.” As she tore through her catalog of rude gal, sex-positive songs—including “Romping Shop,” her Billboard-charting duet with Vybz Kartel—she quickly ditched her pink boudoir robe for a chain-encrusted gold bustier, then kicked off her heels. It was a perfect example of the artist’s fearless, ever-changing wardrobe—one that is redefining dancehall style.

Born Grace Hamilton in Portmore, Jamaica, Spice understands that fashion is a crucial element of performance and deftly wields a man-eating alter ego on stage. Her electrifying stage shows are always kicked up a notch by elaborate bodysuits and a rotation of colorful wigs that recall an early Nicki Minaj. Then there’s her penchant for kinky nurse uniforms and latex bodysuits that often border on fetish cosplay. She honed this flair for spectacle at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston, where she studied music and drama. But beyond the pink wigs and onstage glitz, Spice isn’t afraid to dabble in more provocative, gender-defying fashion. Case in point: the fake mustache and three-piece suit she wore for her 2014 hit, “Like A Man,” which addressed gender bias and sexism in the dancehall scene. In an exaggerated baritone pitch she sang, “You think they woulda rate me more / If I was a man and did drop it hardcore.” All it takes is a scroll through her Instagram feed and YouTube channel—which are filled with daring outfits and tongue-in-cheek takes on feminism—to see that the future of dancehall looks bright and bold.