Listening to Y2K! will instantly give you a sense of what Ice Spice does best, along with the unfortunately minuscule range that she evokes. Across ten songs that barely hit the 23 minute mark, there isn't a lot of room for error and Y2K! blatantly proves that Ice Spice isn't currently capable of creating an album's worth of memorable material.
Yes... I know. I am probably the last person you expected to write a review on Y2K!, the debut album from rapper Ice Spice. But here we are. Don't question it. Just give in to this reality that we're living in. For those readers who don't already know, Ice Spice is a newer, breakout star rapper from the Bronx whose style delves into New York drill music and has a distinct braggadocios and charm to her performance and personality. She exploded on the social media platform Tik Tok (as a 27-year-old man, I believe it's called that, fact check me if I'm wrong) thanks to breakout single "Munch (Feelin' U)." Following that up came her Like...? EP and singles "Bikini Bottom" and "In Ha Mood" helped skyrocket her to stardom that few female rappers have achieved in such little time. Now, what feels like an eternity since her breakout single back in 2022, we finally have her debut album to dissect and see if she's progressed as an artist and what she would provide in an album format.
Curiosity simply got the best of me with Y2K! You may have already known what to expect, but I didn't know what I was getting into. I never heard any of her singles prior to this album and I only knew her by her distinct look, short snippets of her rapping performances, and her appropriate Dunkin' Munchkins brand deal. Listening to Y2K! will instantly give you a sense of what Ice Spice does best, along with the unfortunately minuscule range that she evokes. Across ten songs that barely hit the 23 minute mark, there isn't a lot of room for error and Y2K! blatantly proves that Ice Spice isn't currently capable of creating an album's worth of memorable material. And that's not the worst thing out there! There are plenty of artists that are singles artists, those who simply aren't able to portray who they are across an album's length. Who knows, maybe we'll get to a point where Ice Spice will be in a creative enough headspace to provide a compelling album from start to finish. But in the meantime, this early into her career, I don't see that happening anytime soon.
The album itself is cleverly named Y2K!, after Spice being born on the exact day of the new millennia (which is actually pretty cool) and it definitely has the New York drill elements and production that she is known for. Bass heavy industrial beats and rhythms, lyrics that evoke the braggadocious of an accomplished rapper and the absolute silliness of a jokester. There are a surprising lot of poop and fart jokes, goofy references that range from Pop-Tarts to Annie to floor mats and I'm not sure if I want to relive by referencing the lyrics in this review, but hey, you can view them for yourself if you're brave enough. It sounds very big budget and glossy, but the repetitiveness of these songs make the album's 23 minute runtime last twice its length. The album does have some highlights though, like the album opener "Phat Butt," the solidly produced "Did It First," "BB Belt," and even as ridiculous as "Think U the Shit (Fart)" is, it's still a brighter moment in the track listing. There are definitely low points where Ice Spice sounds absolutely zonked out and asleep at the wheel on tracks like "Popa," "Bitch I'm Packin,'" and "Plenty Sun." The guests are all here for a paycheck and definitely phone it in whether it's Travis Scott, Gunna or Central Cee.
As massively hyped as Y2K! is, its greatest fault is that Ice Spice doesn't really have anything new or interesting to say. The production is clean, glossy and pleasant but with its repeating beats, flows, and deliveries from Spice results in a dull, monotonous listen that warrants little replay value. There are some fun, likeable, entertaining moments here and there but if you've heard much of Ice Spice's output beforehand (which I have now after I listened to this album), then there isn't any reason to listen other than if you're a hardcore fan. This is frankly the case of a breakout star within the music industry, newly signed to a major label (this being Capitol), who needs to release an album just to please the label and industry's traditional expectations, regardless if the artist has any interesting longform statement to make. And coming from Ice Spice, this is expected for sure. I don't think anyone who has followed her career thus far expects Y2K! to be some grand, personal, cohesive statement of an album. They just expect some fun, catchy singles that are bite sized... the size of a Munchkin to be exact. It's just unfortunately too bad that we didn't get a sturdy collection of fun singles. Instead, we've got a dropped box of Munchkins on the floor with only a couple remained intact in the box. Whether the listener is ready to pick up these sugary donut holes and consume is up to them.
My Rating: 5 / 10
Favorite Songs: "Did It First," "Phat Butt," "I Think You the Shit (Fart)," "BB Belt"
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