Icandy

Florida rapper iCandy became a breakout star when her audacious 2022 track "Keep Dat Nigga" became a big viral hit, notching millions of streams and inspiring its own dance challenge. The song's nimble flow and bouncy <a href="spotify:artist:3mQBpAOMWYqAZyxtyeo4Lo">KC & the Sunshine Band</a>-sampling groove helped it climb onto the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in May of the following year.

Born Shakerria Davis in Pompano Beach, Florida, her mother gave her the nickname Candy when she was young. Rapping since the age of 13, she counts <a href="spotify:artist:5YGY8feqx7naU7z4HrwZM6">Miley Cyrus</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2wIVse2owClT7go1WT98tk">Missy Elliott</a> among her biggest influences. Davis had been working diligently for over a decade -- first as iCandy Davis, then simply iCandy -- before her career began to gain some traction with singles like 2019's "Ten Commandments" and 2020's "Bank Roll (She-Mix)." With brassy rhymes and a fun party vibe, iCandy continued to cultivate an increasingly devoted audience in the front half of 2022 with songs like "Lie to Me" and "It's Over," but it was the infectious "Keep Dat Nigga," released that November, that vaulted her to the next level. Built around a sample of <a href="spotify:artist:3mQBpAOMWYqAZyxtyeo4Lo">KC & the Sunshine Band</a>'s 1975 classic "Boogie Shoes," the song built into a widespread viral hit over the next few months, morphing into a TikTok dance challenge and eventually making it onto Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and the Hot 100 Bubbling Under chart. In 2023, iCandy released a collaborative mix of "Keep Dat" with <a href="spotify:artist:2qoQgPAilErOKCwE2Y8wOG">GloRilla</a>, Kali, and <a href="spotify:artist:6fKiutMtRIcxi4zEau0BuI">Big Boss Vette</a>. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi