She became famous without putting out an LP – an impressive enough feat – but can she stay famous now that she has done so? With ‘Y2K!,’ Ice Spice sets out to answer that pressing question.

Stream: ‘Y2K!’ – Ice Spice

After months of building anticipation for hot new hip-hop star Ice Spice’s first-ever LP, it’s finally here and it’s… well, hardly even an LP to begin with, technically.

Even the “bonus” edition, one extra song only barely gets Y2K! over the 25-minute minimum threshold often considered necessary for a recording to be deemed an LP. It’s an album that’s drawn a lot of attention in spite of its limited material, which has indeed been a theme for Ice Spice throughout her still-budding career. Born Isis Naija Gaston on January 1st, 2000 (hence the album’s title), she’s already managed to become a household name in advance of her debut studio album, all while her body of work remained relatively limited to a single EP and a handful of guest verses.

Maybe it’s just that Taylor Swift is indeed the Queen Midas of music and one cameo appearance was all that was needed to make a golden star out of Ms. Spice. Opening for Doja Cat for much of the ongoing Scarlet Tour couldn’t have hurt too much, either. But with Y2K!, Gaston has a chance to prove that she can stand on her own and seal her star status via her own merits as a solo artist.

Although previously noted for her pretty relaxed flow, including on the aforementioned “Karma (Remix),” Ice Spice dials out the intensity and the vulgarity considerably on Y2K!, starting right out of the box with vicious tracks like “Phat Butt” and “Popa.” Perhaps it was time to switch her style up some, perhaps it’s just normal to react to all the mounting celebrity pressure as such.

But when Ice Spice declares that “Bad bitches, I’m ya leader” (a lyrical nod to one of her chief influences, Nicki Minaj) and “Hatin’ bitches be angry. Hatin’ bitches, they ain’t me,” you can tell that the dominant tone for the rest of the album has been set, and it’s going to be a gritty one at that.

Indeed, as the record progresses, those levels of verbal venom and octane remain consistently high.

Ice Spice lashes out plenty of times at her haters and competitors in general, and then targets her attacks more specifically at Latto, her main challenger for the title of Hottest Female Newcomer in the rap game in recent years. The graven-in-stone standards of hip-hop decree that there must be two star lady MC’s squabbling at any given moment— a supreme law that goes all the way back to the Roxanne Wars of the 1980s— and Ice Spice keeps that time-honored practice going strong with her diss track, “Think U the Shit (Fart).” “She could be rich, but I’m richer,” Ice Spice informs us indirectly of Latto. “I be goin’ hard, I’m breakin’ they hearts.“

On Y2K!, Ice Spice makes it clear that this is her space; she’s here to crush the competition and leave all haters squirming behind in the dust. Yet she gets some key assistance in that whole process. “Did It First,” maybe the best song on the album, earns that status thanks to an impressive guest verse by British rapper Central Cee, who joins Ice Spice in confiding that the best way to get even for infidelity is to retaliate in kind (“If he cheatin’, I’m doin’ him worse”), while also admitting to just how slippery a slope this whole cycle is (“At the minute, I’m hittin’ some risky women. I clearly ain’t learnin’ my lesson”).

As a Bronx native currently living in New Jersey, it’s also fitting for Ice Spice to call upon another BX-born rap auteur RiotUSA, to cook up some Jersey Club-style EDM production for this track. “Did It First” is a punchy and infectious number as a result.

Two additional guest rappers, Gunna and Travis Scott, stop by to start “cookin’ a wave of flow” (to quote the latter on “Oh Shhh…”). Meanwhile, RiotUSA continues to offer his valuable bass-heavy beat-making services across all 11 of these tracks, oftentimes joined by guest producers. The results are frequently energetic, with “Gimmie a Light”— a drill-based reimagining of the early 2000’s Sean Paul hit— emerging as one of the highlights.

It’s best not to come to this album expecting anything too profound or for it to join the ranks of the all-time great rap debuts (a pretty tough-to-get-into club, after all). Yet while Ice Spice still has room for growth as an MC and a songwriter— more introspective content and less toilet humor could service her follow-up projects well— Y2K! does its job in other respects. It’s a fast-flying jolt of excitement, one that rushes by and ends in a flash at a mere 20-ish minutes.

It might not be enough to instantly seal Ice Spice’s status as a hip-hop legend, but it does essentially confirm that she’ll hold her ground as a subject of debate and conversation in the current rap landscape – including, crucially enough, with no Taylor in sight this time. That’s an encouraging thought.

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