Ice Spice puts the Trash in Trashy ‘Y2K!’: Y2K Album Review

Courtesy of Ice Spice; Instagram @IceSpice

Ice Spice released ‘Y2K!’ in late July to much disappointment, from mediocre features, repetitive beats, and stolen flows, Ice did not live up to the hype bestowed upon her in early 2022. Only three songs longer than her mixtape, “Like…?”  this album attempts to show her improvement from 2023 to now fails miserably.

Although Ice does deliver some catchy lines and switches up the production a few times, ‘Y2K!’  feels disingenuous. This album was made solely to prove haters wrong, that she is talented and is capable of having different rap alters on but it seems to radiate the complete opposite.

Earlier this year during Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj feud, several artists chose their side of the beef. Ice drew a line in the sand effectively by allegedly dissing Latto, a close friend of MTS, in ‘Think U The Shit (Fart)’. The pot for beef between Latto and Ice Spice was already brewing but this was the first official shot taken.

While receiving praise for taking the first shot, cousin fandoms did not take the Ice’s shots lightly. This led to critiques on social media of Ice Spice's flow, stage presence, and production. By inserting herself in this beef, spectators expected Ice Spice's overall brand to improve.

 Ice is most comfortable in her one-dimensional flow and I think that’s okay, sounds like she cracked under pressure on ‘Y2K!’. The best thing about waiting for an artist's comeback is growth, Ice shows initiative by rapping on what sounds like Yeat-type beats on ‘Plenty Sun’. I can appreciate the effort but there is no confidence behind this delivery.

She even begins to flow similar to Yeat in ‘Popa’, the delivery in this track is much stronger but not enough to move me.

 Similar to ‘Plenty Sun’, Ice sounds uncomfortable in ‘Phat Butt”, probably because she is blatantly imitating her mentor, Nicki Minaj. This is unsurprising to me as Minaj’s label ‘Heavy on It Records’ has struck a deal with Ice Spice. Ice has likely gotten help from the label from production to writing.

The features on this album were not significant either, which is a double-edged sword as Ice did not take the opportunity to outperform Gunna, CentralCee, or Travis Scott. Central Cee is the only feature to compliment Ice and her flow. Their chemistry is there especially because of the cheating allegations, that’s obviously a PR stunt.

Overall, four out of the ten songs were experimental and only two of them were playlist-worthy. For Ice Spice's sake, she has to start being more involved in her process. This album is giving label-driven mediocre rap. I do not want to see another Ice Spice album until she develops a brand and sound. There is potential for better, don’t count her out yet.

Rating: 5.5/10