Meet the 19-year-old Philly native behind the viral #Ick TikTok trend

If you’ve been on TikTok in the last few months you’ve probably heard the viral rap called “Ick,” about the “sassy man apocalypse.” A girl with a raspy, rich tone laments the state of dating today, specifically on how modern-day men are lacking with their “part-time jobs at 7-Eleven,” Axe body spray, poor credit scores, and other “icks.” The song is infused with Philly Club, a genre of house music characterized by its fast beats and heavy bass: perfect for dancing.

Behind the viral hit is 19-year-old Southwest Philly native Lay Bankz, who was recently back home between music video shoots for her new song “Tell Ur Girlfriend.” It’s another melodic rap song played to that Philly Club-inspired beat — “All club music has its own twist to it, but when you hear Philly Club you know the difference,” Bankz said.

When The Inquirer caught up with her in March, it was Bankz’s first day off in two weeks after attending the Grammys and performing at the hip-hop music festival Rolling Loud.

“I slept in today, I’m probably going to get my nails and hair done, go out to eat,” she said. “These days are the more important ones for me because I don’t have these very often now.”

Over the last year, Bankz’s fame has skyrocketed: “Ick” has surpassed 56 million streams on Spotify, and her viral hit “Na Na Na” has garnered over 35 million hits on Spotify. This on top of collaborations with NLE Choppa and R&B legend Ciara, and an EP titled Now You See Me. She has been dubbed a rising rap star, “one to watch” by Spotify, Okayplayer, and Revolt.

Growing up in Philly, Bankz was surrounded by music. She began singing at the age of 3 and her mom put her in piano lessons. She remembers listening to old school R&B her grandma would put on while cleaning on Sundays, and listening to Beyoncé during car rides to Bright Horizons preschool with her mom.

The String Theory Performing Arts alum dropped her first song during her freshman year, in 2019. Right after that, the COVID-19 pandemic hit — alongside the rise of TikTok.

“I said to my friends, ‘Listen, I’m gonna be TikTok famous,’” she said. “I don’t know about y’all but I’m about to lock in, I have nothing else to do.”

Soon after, Bankz started making videos with her friends — 2rare, Zahsosaa, Jabril, and the Philly Goats D. Sturdy, Sou, and PGS Spence — forming a Philly-based TikTok collective. They popularized the “Blick,” a hip-shaking dance move rooted in Philly Club.

“Blicking is honestly just fun. It’s just supposed to be like you’re releasing your wiggle,” Bankz said. “I’ve been blicking my entire life, because I grew up in Philly culture with tanging and toprocking. The dance just feels good. You’re literally just feeling yourself and you feel good.”

“Ick” and “Na Na Na” are rapped to Philly Club’s signature sound and often accompanied by blicking. She is best known for melodic rap hits, but Bankz emphasizes that she can do it all: sing, rap, pop, R&B — she even has some country songs in the works.

“It was lit ... growing up in Southwest. It was always something to do, the cookouts was fun, people was always outside. I had a great childhood,” she recalled. “And, you know, the neighborhood wasn’t the nicest. We didn’t always have the greatest things. But we made do with what we had, and I love where I’m from. I wouldn’t want to be from nowhere else.”

Her manager, Kenny Blake, is also a Southwest Philly native.

“[Kenny] owns a barbershop in Southwest, and I used to go there with my little brothers to make sure they get their haircut Thursday,” she said. “And I went in there on Thursday and Kenny stopped me — this was in 2019 [when] I put out my first song — and he was like, ‘Yo, my son’s played me your song and I’m gonna manage you.’”

Just as Philly shows up in Lay’s sound, the community shows up for her.

“I just had a little video shoot for ‘Tell Ur Girlfriend,’ and [my Philly community] went so crazy,” she said. “So many people came out and it was so short notice, but the amount of people that came out to show love was amazing. So I love Philly.”

This year, Bankz plans to release back-to-back singles and then an album. 2024, she said, is going to be all about music that is truly Lay Bankz “to the bone. This new era of music is really just showing my supporters the real me.”

She wants to have enough music out so that her fans can make their own “Lay Bankz playlists.” It’s a lot of work, but as Bankz goes back and forth between LA and Philly, she stays grounded in her hometown, and in knowing that her hard work will allow her to give back to her community.

Bankz’s influence has undoubtedly emerged from the influence of TikTok as a global power. As TikTok faces threats of a potential ban — and other sites continually change their algorithms for better or worse — many artists have grown wary of losing a major platform to promote their music.

Bankz sees TikTok as just another platform, and is confident in her ability to find other impactful ways to promote her music.

“I really came from nothing. Me and my manager, Kenny, we built this empire from just a dream,” she said. “I really do come from a city where they don’t love you until you make it out. That keeps me grounded just knowing where I’ve come from and never forgetting I got people really relying on me.”