There’s something delightfully genuine about 20-year-old singer/rapper/artist/activist Wavy Spice. With all the Candyshawns and Brookzaleas waving their pink, braided hair extensions in our collective faces, a little sincerity is refreshing.
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That age-old maxim that every Disney movie has spouted since Walt first had aspirations of dwarves and grandeur actually has a bit of truth to it. Turns out being yourself does, occasionally, pay off. For proof of this, you need look no further than Spanish Harlem’s Wavy Spice. Taking more than just inspiration for her name from mid 90’s pop, her sample-heavy hip hop is full of the kind of relaxed, dubbed beats that only a life lived ignoring Gangnam Style parodies, Khloe Kardashian or Breaking Dawn Part II could bring.
Her music makes no effort to hide the plethora of influences and inspiration New York natives are constantly bombarded with. From the obvious Latino rhythms to her fiercer, more aggressive lyrics that call to mind her friends and neighbours over at A$VP Mob to even further afield where elements of European trance creep in. Making an effort to be largely responsible for as much of her output as possible, she takes the reins of her writing, her videos and her production, with the occasional helping hand from the likes of Freebase or photographer Destiny Mata, Wavy Spice can safely consider her adherence to the tenets of Girl Power enough to make Halliwell and Co. well up with pride.
Her positivity seems entirely genuine too, and can be verified by her involvement with worthy causes such as the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and volunteering as a sex education counsellor in her local community. The balancing act required to maintain her sugary sweet demeanor with her independent, street tough attitude, (she has a “F.N.G.M.”) seems almost impossible, yet she manages it with an effortless level of carefree positivity that you feel certain continues long after the cameras and mics have been turned off.
i-D headed down to Hysteria for Cherryade X Shuuush Urself to catch Wavy Spice and Misha Mafia in action. FOMO? Look right.
Text: Joe Iley
Photography: Dasha Love
