If you have been online this past month, you've probably seen the rumors surrounding rappers Ice Spice and Central Cee — and, by proxy, influencer Madeline Argy.
Since the beginning of July, Ice Spice and Central Cee have kept the rumor mill going extra hard after being spotted together multiple times in the lead-up to the release of their collab “Did It First,” part of Spice's long-anticipated debut studio album Y2K!. Madeline Argy, who famously dated Central Cee before the rumors started and inspired the rapper's viral opening verse on his track “Doja,” has also found herself in the middle of the rumors.
In case you need a clear picture, here's a timeline of how things played out — from Ice Spice and Central Cee's first spotting together to the Y2K! rapper confessing she is single and Argy disproving Central Cee's “apology” track.
April 7, 2024: Ice Spice and Central Cee tease they are working on something together
Ice Spice and Central Cee first teased they were working on something together in April, posting a couple of pictures of the two in a studio without further explanation.
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July 3, 2024: Ice Spice and Central Cee seemingly take a ride together around London
On July 3, 2024, the duo seemingly took a ride around London together, which fans put together from two different videos posted from their accounts. Though they did not tag each other, fans noticed the interior of the car from both posts was the same, and thus, speculation started.
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July 4, 2024: Ice Spice and Central Cee are spotted together on a shopping trip in London
After the video of the car, Ice Spice and Central Cee were seen at the Chrome Hearts store in London, fully sparking romance rumors.
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July 6, 2024: Ice Spice and Central Cee are spotted on a night out together
To say Ice Spice got the most out of her London visit would be an understatement. Just a few days after their shopping “date,” the duo hung out again — this time, they enjoyed a night out at a lounge.
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July 11, 2024: Ice Spice and Central Cee tease a collab for the first time
As rumors reached a peak, Ice Spice and Central Cee finally teased a collab was coming, appearing in a video together featuring the song's snippet.
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July 12, 2024: Ice Spice releases “Did It First” featuring Central Cee
Just a day after the collab tease, Ice Spice released “Did It First,” off her debut studio album Y2K!, featuring Central Cee alongside a music video filmed in London and cheating references galore.
“I'm selective with who I get with / Gyal on my phone tryna see who I slept with / She investigating, detective/ Lucky for me, I deleted the message / All along, it was me and a bad b*tch / But I told her it was me and my bredrin / By the end of this verse, I'll be done / I guess we gon' see in like sixteen seconds / If I went court for all of the times I got caught, I'd have about sixteen felons / I keep comin' with stupid excuses like, ‘I was juiced and tripped and fell in’ / I might take the risk DMin' / But I don't know ‘cause these chicks be tellin’/ At the minute, I'm hittin' some risky women / I clearly ain't learn my lesson," Central Cee sings in his verse.
July 12, 2024: Central Cee joins Ice Spice onstage at Wireless in London to sing “Did It First”
Hours after the song's debut, Central Cee joined Ice Spice onstage during her headlining set at Wireless festival in London's Finsbury Park.
July 12, 2024: Central Cee's ex-girlfriend Madeline Argy addresses rumors on TikTok
The same day “Did It First” dropped, Madeline Argy took to TikTok to clarify the status of her relationship with Central Cee, share how she found out about the collaboration, and explain how she became part of Central Cee's “marketing scheme.”
“Imagine you break up with your boyfriend one night, and the next day, he's posted up with Ice Spice in Chrome Hearts,” Argy says in one of the videos. “I didn't actually get to break up with him, and he's already with the next girl.” Argy also confessed all the videos of Ice Spice and Central Cee in London were happening around her birthday, which was on July 7, and emphasized she only learned about the whole promo rollout 12 hours before the video for “Did It First” dropped.
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July 19, 2024: Madeline Argy opens up about being “used” in a PR stunt in her Pretty Lonesome podcast
“My ex-boyfriend kind of publicly violated me through the means of using me as a pawn in his PR stunt and also not informing me of his PR stunt, which was essentially to make it look like he's sleeping with another girl,” Argy paraphrases the video, going on to clarify she found out “Did It First” roughly 10 days before it released.
Argy admitted she was ready to delete her social media after all the drama, but support from a friend pushed her to do the opposite and stand up. “I didn't think there was a way for me to come out of this situation in a way that helped me,” Argy said. “Essentially, [he] put me against another woman, and it shouldn't be that way, but everyone knows that that's exactly what's going to happen when you do something like that.”
“I do want everyone to just kind of giggle at this because I've been laughing; I've laughed probably the hardest and the most this week of my life, but it's hard for me to make this podcast, and it was hard for me to make those TikToks because as deranged as it is I am fresh out of that relationship,” she continued. “It was a nearly three-year relationship for me, and I'm still very attached to that guy. I won't go back, and I can promise you that, but it is hard to know that what I'm doing right now is going to make him feel bad. But I have to remember he does not think that way about me. He was fine to post up with her. He was fine to see me hurt and do it again, and again, and again, and then laugh about it.”
July 22, 2023: Ice Spice seemingly teases Argy with new TikTok (and Argy responds)
Ice Spice posted a video of herself doing pushups to TikTok with the caption: "mood after takin ha manzzz.” Argy seemingly took the video in stride with a push-up video of her own with a friend.
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July 25, 2024: Ice Spice tells Rolling Stone her relationship with Central Cee is platonic
On the cover of Rolling Stone ahead of Y2K!'s release, Ice Spice opened up about her relationship with Central Cee, admitting she is single and they are nothing more than friends. “We’ve been friends since ‘Munch’ came out, honestly. We’re just twins,” she told the publication.
July 25, 2024: Central Cee releases “gen z luv”
Central Cee released a new track, “gen z luv," which he had previously teased on social media, on July 25, 2024, which many people interpreted to be about Argy.
Argy referred to the song on her podcast, saying: “He [had] put out on his story a snippet of a song, and people thought it was an apology song because it's obviously f*cking about me.” She added: “That is not a new song. I've heard that song before. I used to love that song. It's not released, but it was written months ago.”
Argy says the notes app that serves as the main visual for the track, which reads July 14, 2024, does not reflect the time the song was written.
Teen Vogue has reached out to Central Cee's team for extra comment.
