Ice Spice? Is she, like, the secret sixth member of The Spice Girls? I decided to check out.
Okay, so I’m not completely out of touch. I follow a lot of
hip hop accounts on Twitter, and this chick’s ginger afro and gyrating ass have
been all over my feed for the last half a year. She's got a unique image. But what about her sound? I kinda assumed that it
wouldn’t be my cup of tea, but I decided to check out her new EP anyway because
1) I haven’t reviewed any young up-and-coming rappers recently, and 2) I haven’t
reviewed many female rappers recently.
So, what’s my verdict on Ice Spice then? Firstly, I think
the stage name is very apt – and not just because of the obvious reference to
her frosty complexion and ginger hair. ‘Ice Spice’ perfectly describes her
rapping style: chilled out, but with a spicy attitude. The cool laid back
delivery sets her apart from her boisterous New York peers, Cardi and Nicki. But
is she as capable a rapper as Cardi or Nicki?
Personally, I don’t think so. The issue is that she seems to
have only one flow. It’s quite speedy and kinda catchy, but it is only one
flow, and it gets pretty tiring by the second half of this EP. As for the
lyrics, they seem fairly basic to me, although I must admit she did teach me
what a ‘munch’ was, so I guess this EP has some educational value.
Fortunately, the beats go hard. ‘Princess Diana’ is nasty (the
song, not the person!) – those plucked guitars and distorted kicks are so simple
but fun. I also love the suitably cartoonish energy of ‘Bikini Bottom’, which definitely
seems like the type of beat Spongebob and Patrick would twerk to.
Were her rapping a little more dynamic, I could easily sit
through a whole album with these types of beats. Her calm tone of voice combined
with the sass is unique, but otherwise this baddie from the Bronx needs to get
some better bars and switch up her flow.
TRACK TASTER: