“In a frenzied genre, she’s a calm rapper, which is part of what makes this song so frosty — the beat is skittish and portentous, but Ice Spice sounds at peace. She’s rhyming quickly, but also calmly and slightly dismissively, probably because of the subject matter. That would be a man who might be useful in some ways, but is easily dismissed — someone who’s on call, but barely needed. He’s good at one thing, and when that’s done, not much else — he’s a munch. Get used to saying it.” – The New York Times
“Ice Spice’s ‘Munch (Feelin’ U)’ Is the New York Rap Song of the Summer We’ve Been Waiting For” – Pitchfork
“She knows exactly how and where to exhale her rhymes into drill music’s sleek architecture, offering a breathy human counterpoint to the alien bass lines, the glitchy hi-hats, the antiseptic synth melodies that tend to hide out in the corner.” – The Washington Post
“Bikini Bottom” showcases the Bronx native’s playful yet hard-hitting side. Previewed earlier this month, the song quickly drew attention with its whimsical RIOTUSA beat. Fans compared the melody to the soundtracks of Scooby Doo and SpongeBob SquarePants — whose undersea hometown gives the song its title – but with subsonic bass and rich 808s.
Ice Spice navigates the instrumental with her supernatural cool, dexterously delivering lyrics that her army of fans already know by heart: “How can I lose if I’m already chose?/ Like/ If she feelin’ hot then I make that bitch froze/ And I get a bitch tight every time that I post/ Damn.” “Bikini Bottom” arrives with a new video that captures the excitement of Ice Spice’s rise, with the Fordham native pulling up to Times Square after hopping on a party bus with more than 20 girls.
“Bikini Bottom” follows in the footsteps of “Munch (Feelin U),” the runaway hit that helped turn Ice Spice into one of the hottest risers in hip-hop. Produced by her frequent collaborator RIOTUSA, the minimalist “Munch” and its signature opening line, “You thought I was feelin u?” took over the internet in a matter of weeks, generating 55 million global streams, 16 million+ YouTube views, and over 500k video creations on TikTok (where the hashtag #icespice has over 916 million views). “Munch” earned critical praise from The New York Times, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Spotify, The FADER, REVOLT, and many others. The song reached the Top 5 of Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 and the Top 40 of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song is currently in the Urban Radio Top 20 and is approaching the Top 25 at Rhythmic. Just this week, Ice earned Hip-Hop Rookie Of The Month honors from Billboard.
Ice Spice’s road to stardom accelerated with “Munch,” but she’s been buzzing in NYC for a long time. She first gained attention with “No Clarity,” a bite-sized banger that decries the lack of communication in a relationship, and the soul-sampling “Name Of Love,” which Ebro featured as his “discovery of the day” on Apple Music Radio. The belle of the Bronx earned even more notoriety when she hopped on Power 105’s On The Radar, delivering a freestyle that earned praise from Lyrical Lemonade, Pitchfork and Audiomack, who crowned her one of the “10 Rappers You Should Know Right Now.”
In just a few short months, Ice Spice established herself as one of the most notable names in the rap game. With more music on the way, the effortlessly rising superstar is just getting started. Already viral on TikTok and Instagram, Ice’s follow-up to the smash single “Munch” proves that the Bronx born It Girl is here to stay.
