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Show one of Ice Spice’s Y2K! World Tour is out of the way, and the 24-year-old can exhale just a little bit. Ice was nervous about the Washington, D.C. crowd since they’re typically “kinda dead,” but the sold-out Anthem venue provided a pleasant surprise to kick off the star rapper’s first headlining trek on Tuesday night (July 30).

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While Ice was ecstatic to see the Spice Cabinet fill the venue, there was one special guest in attendance that pulled on her heartstrings.

“The best part, honestly, is my dad came to the show last night,” she tells Billboard. “I was at soundcheck like, ‘Damn, my pops really here. That’s crazy.’ Being able to see family during all of this — it’s just him being a proud dad. The best part about being Ice Spice is having a proud dad.”

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At a time when hip-hop has struggled to find neophyte hitmakers, Ice Spice and her amber curls arrived – The Bronx princess that was promised. Ice enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom from the bodega to the Super Bowl — or “the 4 Line to four times Grammy-nominated,” as she raps on Y2K! opener “Phat Butt.”

Ice Spice posted four top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits in 2023 and won Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Year honors. She climbed the rap food chain, earning co-signs from Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift, Grammy nominations, a Super Bowl commercial with Starry and her own drink at Dunkin’ Donuts, all before releasing her debut album.

The 24-year-old gave NYC a new face for the drill movement and expectations surrounding her anticipated Y2K! album change depending on who you ask. Some look at Ice as more of a singles artist, while others set the bar sky-high due to the scorching start to her career.

Fully produced by right hand collaborator RiotUSA, Y2K! arrived last Friday (July 26) with features from Travis Scott, Gunna and Central Cee for a total of 10 tracks (a bonus song was released on Thursday) — four of which previously hit streaming services as singles.

However, Ice doesn’t look at this project as a “make or break” for her, no matter what the critical reception and charts say. (Billboard projections currently have her outside the top 10 on next week’s Billboard 200.)

“I think people try to put that pressure on me just because I have been so successful,” she theorizes. “I don’t really put too much weight into it. Of course, I appreciate it and I prefer it, but it’s not a make-or-break for me. I’m just happy with the album I made.”

Dive into the rest of our interview with Ice Spice below, as she speaks on working with Travis Scott, not being worried about her brand overshadowing the music and her improvements as a performer.

How’s tour life treating you? How was the first show?

Ice Spice: Good. It’s always a little hectic, but it’s fun. It was really good. D.C. definitely shocked me, because usually they’re kinda dead but they surprisingly shocked me. 

What are some of your biggest improvements as a performer compared to two years ago?

I think everything, to be honest. I think that’s how it is for me at least. Breath control, overall stamina — those are things I didn’t realize matter. It just helps improve the show, especially after my set gets longer. 

What’s been your mindset and emotions this release week with Y2K! out? Has there been a proudest moment?

I just been feeling everything. From anxious to calm to excited and relieved. Just grateful really mostly. I think finally headlining my own show for the first time. I started the Europe leg doing festivals, and now it’s my own crowd. It’s a different vibe that I’m grateful for. I’ve been wanting to do this for a year now and we’re finally here. That’s my proudest moment. 

Has anyone reached out to you that you didn’t expect that showed love about the album?

So many people reached out. Travis [Scott], of course. I love our record and our video that we put out for “Oh Shhh…” He hit me congratulating me. [Sei Less] is one of my favorite New York restaurants, honestly. I’ve went so many times in the last year. 

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How would you define success for this project?

I think it’s just really getting through the Y2K! Tour. That’s a success for the project. Being able to share it with fans in real time as it’s happening is crazy. 

Do you ever feel that your branding can overshadow the music at times? How do you juggle that?

When I first had met this artist, they had asked me, “Do you wanna be bigger than your music or do you want your music to be bigger than you?” I had no clue what they were talking about. I was like, “Both, bro, what are you talking about?” They’re just like, “Nah, you gotta pick one.” We was just in the studio chatting, because people love to talk about stuff like this.

But nah, I think it always just helps. I think the bigger you are, the more reach you have and the bigger the platform, I don’t see how it could not help. I feel like I’d only want it to be this way. 

Was there anything with this album that you didn’t pull off that you wanted to?

For sure. That’s definitely always the case. For both projects that I’ve made, there’s been sample issues and feature clearances that we run into — but that’s part of the process. Every time, it feels like, “Oh my God, no, everything’s going not as planned.” You just end up figuring it out. I think a lot of people go through that.

Why was it important to get back to the essence of drill and continue your bond with Riot on the production?

We wanted to make what we like. I just love drill beats, and his specifically. We just locked in for a whole year and really got to it when we could. We have the busiest schedules, but I think that’s why it’s important to have a close bond with whoever you’re collaborating with. You have to make time when you can. 

When you guys would talk about the album, would there be some sort of North Star or saying you always talked about with the album? Like, “This is what we need to accomplish.”

We usually reference ourselves. I’d be like, “I want a ‘Princess Diana’ or a ‘Munch’-type beat, or Ice Spice type beat.” We just be vibing and do what we do. 

How was linking with Paris Hilton?

I met her during Coachella at Neon Carnival. She’s like the sweetest person ever. Her house is incredible. She’s the epitome of Y2K, so the link-up was inevitable. 

How do you define Y2K? I heard you say you love famous people before the internet and social media era.

Yeah, I think that’s a lot of my obsession. I love the fashion, I love the overall vibe. I was really young so I just pull references to the most iconic people during that era. I like to reference Britney Spears, Beyoncé and all the icons. 

Have you started working on the next album?

I am definitely so ready to start another album. So that’s great. I know my label is gonna be really excited to hear that. I don’t wanna start teasing the next album, we in Y2K!.