Y2K! – Ice Spice’s debut album – has felt like a long time coming. The Bronx rapper first blew up two years ago with the Drake-approved Munch (Feelin' U), and has had a steady stream of hits ever since: from the PinkPantheress-assisted Boy's a Liar Pt. 2 and two Nicki Minaj link-ups (Princess Diana and Barbie soundtrack cut Barbie World) to a guest spot on Taylor Swift’s Karma remix.
Aside from a brief nod to Nicki – “Queen said I’m the princess,” she raps on Phat Butt – little of this gets a look in on Y2K! which instead meshes together witty brags and flourishes of toilet humour. “You think you the shit, bitch, you’re not even the fart,” is one of the best one-liners from the record belonging to the latter category, lending Think U The Shit (Fart) its incredibly matter-of-fact title.
Driven by cavernous, glacial drill beats and the steady influence of Jersey Club, Y2K! talks the talk, hammering home last year’s four-strong haul of Grammy nominations, and offering up sharp quips about how Ice Spice is a “rap bitch on the pop charts, toasting bitches like pop tarts”.
Powered by a stuttering vocal sample, Did It First – featuring Central Cee – is lyrically the most interesting of the bunch, and has prompted plenty of speculation around whether her collaborator has been cheating on his on-off partner, influencer Madeline Argy, in real life. “We not f**king but he put the tip in,” Ice Spice protests, tongue firmly in cheek. Whether it’s a marketing stunt or something more substantive remains to be seen, but it certainly grabs attention.
Elsewhere, other controversies – her short-lived feud with The 1975’s Matty Healy following his appearance on The Adam Friedland Show, for example – are left well alone.
To borrow a metaphor in keeping with Ice Spice’s affection for poo jokes, Y2K! feels like the sonic equivalent of flatulence – predominantly one note, with little follow through. Aside from Gimme The Light, which samples Sean Paul’s 2001 dancehall hit of the same name, and transforms it into something hazier, it is dull and unexciting.
By the end of the 10-track release, her trademark tag of “stop playing with ‘em Riot” (an in-joke shared with her longtime collaborator RiotUSA) feels repetitive, each delivery almost identical. Was it worth the wait? Though it has its moments, this feels slightly underbaked.
Y2K! is out now
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