Ice Spice is ‘Just a Girl’ releasing her deluxe version of ‘Y2K’

                             

Courtesy of Ice Spice via Instagram

Ice Spice dropped a much needed deluxe to her debut studio album ‘Y2K’ to top off 2024. Ice shows off some new flows on 5 new tracks with features from , NLE choppa, DaBaby, and Bbtrickz. 

She teased the cover art Dec 18 with a pink and blue version and the caption ‘u can only choose one’. There, of course, was mixed reception in the comments as per usual. Since Ice has gotten noticeably smaller in size, the public seems to focus on her appearance rather than her promo.

Ice Spice marketing team is genius because they took this and ran, they made it kind of camp. To see her physically transform gave ‘the end of an era’ vibes. She began promoting new music all while dropping hints serving as a mini rollout for the album. 

While listening I was pleasantly surprised by the delivery in these newer tracks. There is a new presence about Ice on the beats she's rapping on. It’s refreshing to hear a new sound from her that she’s clearly comfortable with. The jersey beat on GYAT is so similar to drill she is able to find the rhythm to a completely different melody, this improvement alone made the album more listenable for me.

The bars on the new tracks are still very elementary but it does work in her simplistic favor. On the original Y2K there's a hint of replication from her former mentor, Nicki Minaj, but it is so robotic and not exactly pleasing on the ear. This deluxe album seems to be leading her back towards her drill roots.

Overall the deluxe could've been released with the initial album as they are reminiscent of her viral songs. The newer tracks don’t add anything to the album especially if you consider the features, it’s giving cash grab, real bad. I was hoping to hear Ice’s development and more confidence in her flow, sorry munchkins– y’all only got the latter. 

After On the Radar released her newest freestyle, I am convinced that her lyricism will not develop further. Comparing that freestyle to her new tracks, it’s clear that she is getting help with her writing. This confused me as the lyricism is worse when she is receiving help, the only noticeable difference is the confidence in her delivery (which I can appreciate).

 I am still looking forward to her new music in 2025 but I definitely am not looking toward her for intriguing music to engage in. Her lane has become basic baddie music, which is oversaturated at this point. In 2025, I’d like to see her differentiate herself from the crowd and be the trendsetter I know she can be.

Rating: 7/10