Y2K!

Throughout hip-hop history, New York has produced several of the biggest and most iconic female stars. A genuine breakout talent in her city’s abundant pool of drill artists, Bronx rap phenom Ice Spice earned the blessing of no less than Nicki Minaj after “Munch (Feelin’ U)” went from delightfully viral to utterly ubiquitous. Collabs with the Queen from Queens like “Princess Diana” put the outer-borough upstart in a rarefied space as she amassed other hits including “Gangsta Boo” and the Taylor Swift team-up “Karma”. Roughly two years after making such a strong first impression, Ice Spice looks to cement her place in the game with Y2K!. Named in honour of her 1 January 2000 birthdate, her debut album may not be materially that much longer than the preceding Like..? EP. Nonetheless, it augments her sonic world in exciting ways while maintaining the brash authenticity that got her to this point. Though perennial studio partner RIOTUSA remains at the production helm, the beat choices here skew darker and harder than one might expect. The dissonant rhythmic thump of “BB Belt” and menacing synth stabs of “Plenty Sun” soundtrack pointed and pithy verses intended to cut down the competition. Even though a handful of the titles may verge on the scatological, punchlines like “Spent 150 on some carats/That shit cray like them n****s in Paris” keep songs like “Think U the Shit (Fart)” feeling sharp rather than sophomoric. The exclusive guest list here reflects her elite status, wrangling Travis Scott for the victorious “Oh Shhh…” and then Gunna for the badass team-up “Bitch I’m Packin’”.