Ice Spice
experienced staggering success fairly instantly, hitting a cultural vein with the catchy drill-pop appeal of her first songs and skyrocketing from there. Her debut studio album,
Y2K
(a reference to her January 1, 2000 birth date), neither expands on nor strays from the formula that took her to the top, but merely aims to repeat it with ten tracks that are all icy confidence, growling beats, and insidious hooks so detached they can't be bothered with if the listener notices them the first time around or not. The standout songs are great: the relentless bounce of "Did It First" with
Central Cee
is infectious in its fluidity, the sophomoric and slippery "Think U the Shit (Fart)" matches ridiculous lyrical brags with an undeniably funky instrumental, and "Gimme a Light" amps up a classic
Sean Paul
sample with a buzzing drill beat and
's furious flow. The less substantial tracks blur together, even with help from other rap stars like
Travis Scott
on "Oh Shhh..." or
Gunna
on the lackluster "Bitch I'm Packin'." At just over 23 minutes,
seems almost designed to be over before it registers, and the succinct song times and repetitive production choices make these tracks better suited as "on repeat in the background" vibe-setting music than any kind of close listening album experience. While not particularly deep, lyrically groundbreaking, or creatively driven,
delivers
's well-established brand of aloof energy and barbed raps perfectly. It's New York drill for pop listeners, and while it's unclear how lasting the rapper's impact will be, these songs provide a brash fun that's best experienced in the moment. ~ TiVo Staff