Rude lyrics and gale-force charisma are an amusing combination - but can they sustain a career?
Researching the latest global pop sensation, I found myself dwelling not so much on critical music forums as gossipy sites with breathless headlines including "Ice Spice shares video of herself doing push ups"; "Ice Spice hysterically cried when Taylor Swift called her" and "Ice Spice's Work Ethic inspired by Spongebob Squarepants".
Before long, I was deep into theories about an alleged love triangle involving the US star, a social media influencer and UK rapper Central Cee (who guest-stars in her latest single, Did It First). Welcome to pop world 2024.
Ice Spice is a 24-year-old rapper from the Bronx, New York named Isis Gaston, born January 1 2000 (hence the Y2K! branding of her debut album). She essays a fantastically sassy visual style and breezily fun vocal delivery of snappy, slangy, meme-friendly lyrics dabbling in such superficial silliness as being the baddest bitch, making the most money and having great sex - often with someone else's boyfriend.
She scored a big viral hit in 2023 with the provocatively entitled Munch (Feelin' U) concerning men who are good for performing oral sex and not much else, the term quickly adopted by her fanbase as slang for useless men in general (don't take it as a compliment if someone calls you a Munch).
Spice's tangy flavour was soon in demand, and she popped up as a guest on a fistful of smash hits last year, including UK pop star Pink Pantheress's Boy's a Liar Pt 2 and Taylor Swift's Karma. She cemented her position as the hottest new star in rap by collaborating with her superstar mentor Nicki Minaj on a remake of Aqua's Barbie Girl for the all-conquering Barbie soundtrack. Spice ended last year with four Grammy nominations, over a billion streams and a fistful of lucrative brand deals, including Adidas and Dunkin' Donuts.
"Everybody be knowin' my name / Just want the money, don't want the fame," she snaps on BB Belt, which seems to sum up her brazenly mercenary attitude to the whole pop business. She has received criticism in rap circles for her rudimentary one-speed delivery but it is hard to argue with the gale force of her charisma and sheer spirit of fun.
The almost punkily spartan electronic backing tracks are all produced by longstanding musical collaborator RiotUSA, adapting the lo-fi sounds of confrontational gangster rap style Drill for Spice's upbeat, poppy delivery, a contrast that really works.
Young female fans have responded to her rude mischief, bravura body positivity and a general sense of owning her own space. Her debut album opens with a track called Phat Butt (featuring the playground chant "Fat butt, pull my pants up") and includes the astonishingly titled Think U The Shit (Fart), in which she brays "Think you the shit, bitch? / You not even the fart." If you are tempted to take offence about the falling lyrical standards of younger generations, it is worth remembering that rude gimmickry has always played a part in pop (after all, "rock 'n roll" was originally US slang for sex).
Y2K! is fun while it lasts, which is not very long. The whole album clocks in at under 25 minutes, of which five out of 10 tracks have been previously released. It's an amusing debut albeit she will have to develop skills, depth and substance if she hopes to be more than a flash in the pan. Just like in the kitchen, a little spice goes a long way.
Following a run of triumphant summer gigs, the Los Angeles rockers return with the first new song from the four original, founding members (Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, Stephen Perkins, and Eric Avery) in 34 years. Imminent Redemption is fiery, frantic and gloriously loud: the phrase "a return to form" is overused, but this one deserves the accolade.
Jorja Smith, High
The Walsall R&B/neo-soul singer goes back to her bass-heavy, house-tinged roots (remember the brilliance of 2018's Blue Lights?) on this slick new single about finding yourself against the odds: "Cause where'd you run if you can't? I wanna grow but I don't wanna trip," she sings, her honey-sweet vocals as smooth as ever.
Katie Gavin, Aftertaste
Best known for fronting indie-pop band Muna - who shot to prominence with Silk Chiffon, their 2022 duet with Phoebe Bridgers - Katie Gavin has taken the plunge and gone solo. A tender, honest look at the heady early days of an all-consuming romance, Aftertaste promises an exciting new direction for her career.
Pixies, Chicken
The Boston grunge pioneers could be forgiven for resting on their laurels at this stage in their career - ride off profits from Surfer Rosa; be content in knowing you influenced everything from Nirvana to the Smashing Pumpkins - but Chicken suggests they're headed in a new, darker direction. "Sometimes I feel like a chicken / Peckin' my way through the trees / When something aloft cuts my head right off," Black Francis sings, backed by haunting orchestral arrangements.
Jade Thirlwall, Angel of My Dreams
Thirlwall becomes the latest Little Mix-er to embark on a solo career, following Perrie Edwards's bubblegum-pop single Forget About Us, Leigh-Anne's contagiously upbeat Don't Say Love and Jesy Nelson's much-mocked rap effort Boyz. Always the most likeable member of the hit girl girl group thanks to her down-to-earth banter in interviews, Angel of My Dreams is a turbo-charged electro-banger chasing the hedonistic glory of Charli XCX's Brat.
