This is a rags-to-riches story of Grace “Spice” Hamilton. The “Queen of Dancehall” music grew up in poverty in the Old Britain community in Portmore, Jamaica with her five siblings. However, Hamilton was determined to end poverty in her family.
She knew the journey will be long, tough and difficult. But she knew she was destined for greatness as her late father had told her in her childhood. Decades later, Hamilton has become a top artiste and an entrepreneur. According to her, she was inspired by her mother to become an entrepreneur as she watched her catch fish and sell it at her restaurant during her formative years.
“I tell my mom that she’s my inspiration because I watched her struggle with all of us. She truly made something out of nothing. My mother would cook one pound of rice and make sure that we all were full. We felt like we had ten pounds of rice!,” Hamilton told Forbes.
From humble beginnings, Hamilton overcame all of the adversity to make it to the top. She recalled losing her house to a fire outbreak when she was in high school. Looking back at the incident which left her homeless for a while, Hamilton disclosed that she now owns multiple homes between Jamaica and Atlanta.
“My tagline now is, ‘From Homeless to Owning Houses.’ Now, I own multiple homes between Jamaica and Atlanta. My journey has been a rough one, but I always tell people, ‘It’s not how you start the race. It’s how you end that. Matters,’” she said.
On how she built wealth, Hamilton, known internationally as Spice, said she created multiple streams of income.
“I have multiple streams of income and various businesses. I own my label, Spice Official Entertainment, a clothing brand Graci Noir, and I own Faces & Laces, which provides full lace wigs, beauty, skincare, and more,” she said.
Her past inspired her businesses. “The fact that I’ve been so poor and I never want to go back there. I am also a mother with two kids and I’m working diligently to break the generational curse of being born into poverty. I’m still working hard to create a bright future for all of us,” she stressed.
Running multiple businesses has not been easy for Hamilton. According to her, she sometimes has to make the hard decision of hiring and firing. “You can’t tag along with people who don’t have the same vision as you or share the same dream,” said the Jamaican dancehall artiste who believes that her stagecraft and versatility allow her to stand out.
For other women who want to be like her, Hamilton said they should never take no for an answer. She noted that two things guide her steps: prayer and hard work. “It doesn’t matter what you have right now. Pray hard, work hard, and you will be successful.”
