Ice Spice Turns Up The Aggression On Her Debut Album “Y2K!”

Ice Spice has excelled in terms of combing softer and harder sounds. Her flow is aggressive, but it sounds great over light, pop-friendly production. It’s why crossovers with the likes of Taylor Swift and PinkPantheress have proven so effective. Spice decides to ditch this musical tension on her new album, though. Y2K, her first outing as a solo artist, sees the rapper go full trap mode over a series of rattling instrumentals. It’s effective, even if it proves to be off-putting to some of her casual fans. The opener, “Phat Butt,” was a single, but the stuttering beat proves to be a good table setter for the rest of the album.

The aggression carries over to the second song (and first collab), “Oh Shhh…” with Travis Scott. Ice Spice flows over a trunk-rattling instrumental, and Scott provides his typical psych trap flourishes on the back end. It works here, even if the formula proves less effective on the plodding “B*tch I’m Packin'” with Gunna. Ice Spice has less chemistry with Gunna than she does Scott, or even Central Cee on “Did It First,” and the song suffers as a result. “Plenty Sun” mashes up the glitchy, Cash Cobain wave that’s trendy right now with Lex Luger horns circa 2010. If that sounds great to you on paper, then you’ll love the song. The standouts remain the singles, “Gimme a Light” and the aforementioned “Did It First.” Y2K! isn’t an amazing album, but its concise, catchy, and memorable. No complaints here.

Y2K! tracklist:

1. Phat Butt
2. Oh Shhh… (featuring Travis Scott)
3. Popa
4. B*tch I’m Packin’ (featuring Gunna)
5. Plenty Sun
6. Did It First (featuring Central Cee)
7. BB Belt
8. Think U the Sh*t (Fart)
9. Gimme a Light
10. TTYL