Review: Ice Spice - Like..?
Ice Spice
Like..?
Over the course of a blistering thirteen minutes, on her new surprise EP ‘Like…?’ Ice Spice rises above the chatter to stake her claim as a future queen of the Bronx.
★★★★
Everyone’s talking about Ice Spice, the latest rap sensation from New York. It’s one thing going viral, but it’s another cementing that hype into something tangible. Over the course of a blistering thirteen minutes, on her new surprise EP ‘Like…?’ Ice Spice rises above the chatter to stake her claim as a future queen of the Bronx.
Produced entirely by RIOTUSA, the EP swerves across hip-hop subgenres such as drill and New Jersey club style, there are even elements of British Grime in Spice’s bravado and smart delivery. A prominent feature of Ice Spice’s sound is her venomous flow; she takes no pauses and no prisoners. Take for instance opener ‘In Ha Mood’ where she raps “Pretty bitch, but I came from the gutter,” a self-aware tackling of both her appeal and the way in which she’s been intruded on by creeps behind keyboards.
Bound to strike a chord on these shores ‘Princess Diana’ see’s Spice coronate herself as the princess of the Bronx, comparing the intense interest in her with the unrelenting attention Diana received from the paparazzi. It’s an interesting comparison considering over twenty years later the culture's hunger for something fresh and exciting feels fiercer than ever.
‘Gangsta Boo’ smartly interpolates P.Diddy’s ‘I Need A Girl Part 2’ whose iconic melody has seen a resurgence in recent months. In the UK, it has been igniting the club scene on the James Hype track ‘Ferrari’ whose increased tempo take on the track seems to have inspired Ice Spice’s rendition here. It almost sees her at not just her most audacious and confident but casually trading bars with Lil Tjay who makes a welcome appearance on the track.
On a side note; a lot of the mixtape relies upon quite harsh and sudden fadeouts that allude to perhaps either longer versions of these tracks, perhaps there was a rush to capitalise on the hype Spice is rightfully receiving right now but it definitely leaves the listener wanting more. I’ll be excited when a full-length really allows Spice to shine and hopefully blend tracks together in a more cohesive fashion.
Keen to show more aspects of her sound, ‘Actin A Smoochie’ sees Spice adopt a more sensual and smoother side. It also sees her adopt a gruffer tone akin to the late Pop Smoke. The mixtape is rounded off with viral sensations ‘Bikini Bottom’ and ‘Munch (Feelin U)’ and whilst there have been countless comparisons to fellow Bronx native Cardi B, be assured that Ice Spice is no mere knockoff, she’s the real deal and here to stay.