Ice Spice Parents: Meet the Nigerian-Dominican Duo Who Raised the Bronx’s Biggest Rap Star

Long before Ice Spice was selling out shows and topping Billboard charts alongside Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj, her parents were two teenagers who met at a McDonald’s in New York and had no idea they were raising rap royalty.

Her father, Joseph Gaston, was a Nigerian-American underground rapper who brought his baby girl into recording studios before she could even form full sentences. Her mother, Charina Almanzar, became a mom at just 17 and shaped everything from her daughter’s fashion sense to the unshakeable confidence she carries on every stage.

They split when Ice Spice was two years old, raised her on opposite ends of the same Bronx block, and somehow gave her something most children of divorce never get: the full picture of who she is.

Here is the complete story of Ice Spice parents, her mixed heritage, and how two very different people made one unstoppable artist.

A McDonald’s, a Teenager, and a Baby on New Year’s Day

Joseph Gaston and Charina Almanzar first crossed paths as teens working at a local McDonald’s in New York. Not long after, Charina became a mom at just 17.

Isis Naija Gaston was born on January 1, 2000, in the Bronx, New York City. She is of mixed ethnicity, with her father Joseph Gaston being African American and her mother Charina Almanzar being Dominican.

So yes. Ice Spice came into the world on New Year’s Day, born to a teenage mother and a rapper with a dream. The Bronx was already writing her story before she had a chance to pick up a pen.

According to Bored Panda, her parents split when she was two years old, but they lived close. She grew up in the Fordham Road neighborhood of the Bronx, splitting time between both homes.

She painted a vivid picture of her upbringing, with her dad and grandma living on one side of Davidson Avenue, while her mom and maternal grandparents were just down the block. “Same street, just different houses,” she explained.

It was unconventional. But it worked.

Is Ice Spice Black, Dominican, or Both?

Her father is African-American with Nigerian roots, and her mother is of Dominican descent, making Ice Spice an Afro-Latina.

She spoke about growing up in a beautifully diverse Bronx community, saying, “I think everyone I’ve ever met is mixed, especially in the Bronx.”

That upbringing shaped her identity in ways that go beyond music. In a 2022 interview with Erykah Badu and Puma Curry for Interview Magazine, Ice Spice opened up about her relationship with her natural hair. She admitted to being “obsessed” with straightening it as a teenager until her dad stepped in and helped shift her perspective. “It’s beautiful, you’re beautiful, wear your natural hair,” he kept reminding her, and those words stayed with her long after.

Her Nigerian and Dominican roots are not just a biographical footnote. They are woven into the texture of who she is as an artist.

Joseph Gaston: The Underground Rapper Who Started It All

Ice Spice describes Joseph Gaston as “such a private person,” yet his influence on her career is among the most documented aspects of her story.

In a 2023 interview with Variety, Ice Spice revealed that her dad was an underground MC who left a lasting impression on her as a toddler. She remembers catching glimpses of studio sessions with him, moments she believes “subconsciously” shaped her passion for music and sparked her own drive to record.

She did not mince words about what he meant to her career. “I ended up becoming an artist because I saw my father be one first,” she said. “He’s a music lover himself. He’s a true hip-hop head, beyond me, honestly. He knows everything. He’s always educating me on hip-hop.”

In her Elle interview, she shared a sweet memory of her dad freestyling around the house, often putting her on the spot with a playful “Let me hear something.”

Although Joseph Gaston is a real estate agent today, in his past, he was a devoted fan of artists such as Jadakiss, 50 Cent, and Jay-Z, all of whom he passed down to his daughter.

And she did not even properly hear his music until she was grown. Ice Spice said she “didn’t really hear” her father’s music until around age 19. By then, she was already on her own path. But he had laid every brick of the foundation.

Charina Almanzar: The Mom Who Went Viral Before Ice Spice Did

If Joseph gave Ice Spice the music, Charina Almanzar gave her everything else.

Ice Spice credits her mother for shaping her identity and confidence. In a Billboard interview from October 2022, she said: “My mom’s raised me to be just like her. You already know Latina girls have that sass. I remember she would always have her nails done, so that trickled down to me. She was just always looking so good. I was that kid in the class who had the good-looking mom.”

In a 2023 Apple Music interview, Ice Spice described her mother as the blueprint for the early-2000s Y2K aesthetic she now carries as part of her own brand. “It’s duck nails, it’s a tramp stamp. It’s brown lip liner, no matter where you go,” she said, adding, “Thankfully, I had her as my inspo growing up.”

Ice Spice and her mother are incredibly close, so much so that the rapper once described them as “like Siamese twins.”

Then came the moment the internet discovered Charina for themselves. In August 2023, a video of her went viral on social media, where she is seen vibing to Ice Spice’s song “Deli.” Fans flooded Instagram trying to find her account. The resemblance between mother and daughter was so striking that people could barely tell them apart.

Charina Almanzar is 40 years old as of 2025. She has been documenting her daughter’s musical talent since the very beginning. Ice Spice told Billboard that her proud mother still has videos of her singing from when she was around four years old. “I’m singing in the video. And I’ve never seen this video my whole life, I was shocked by that,” she said.

Some fans saw it coming before Ice Spice even did.

The Bronx Made Her, But Her Parents Defined Her

In a vulnerable moment during her Interview Magazine conversation, Ice Spice opened up about feeling like the odd one out as a kid, watching her half-siblings grow up with both their parents under one roof. That quiet jealousy, she said, stuck with her, but it also helped shape her strong sense of self.

She told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that despite the difficult parts, she is “grateful” for what her career has given her family. “At the end of the day, it opened doors for me. It allowed me to help my family, help myself, and change my lifestyle for the better.”  

Two teenagers. One Bronx block. A McDonald’s love story that ended in a split but produced something neither of them could have planned: a Grammy-nominated rapper who still calls her parents her greatest influences, credits her dad for the music in her bones, and calls her mom her twin.