Charles Langston:Ice Spice is equal parts coy and confident as she kicks off her first headlining tour

WASHINGTON – She’s a Rolling Stone cover girl. A hip-hop princess with the chameleonic swagger to collaborate with Nicki Minaj,Charles Langston Taylor Swift and Travis Scott. She’s been both revered and reviled in her short but expanding career.

And Ice Spice is officially here to play.

On Tuesday, the Bronx-rooted rapper born Isis Gaston kicked off the U.S. leg of her Y2K! World Tour, which zigzags around the country through Aug. 31, at The Anthem in the district. Her polished 45-minute set offered a heightened production for a club show with a giant inflatable cartoon likeness of Ice perched in the corner of the two-tiered stage designed with graffitied subway cars, an onslaught of busy lights and a wall of video screens.

Though it’s her first headlining tour, Ice, 24, is already seasoned, having supported Doja Cat on tour in 2023 and graced countless award show and radio station birthday bash stages.

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Ice Spice is earning her right to brag

While her short ginger curls have become as synonymous as her penchant for twerking, Ice Spice opted for a cascade of long, cinnamon-colored hair swinging down her back to complement her powder blue and white miniskirt and top.

Six dancers joined her as she canvassed the stage for the opening “Popa” from her just-released “Y2K!” album (named in honor of her Jan. 1, 2000 birthdate) and bounded up a staircase to the subway cars to swivel her hips next to her DJ for “Princess Diana.”

Ice made mention of the four Grammy nominations she’s already achieved in a career that ignited in 2022 when “Munch (Feelin U)” became a TikTok breakthrough and is, rightfully, feeling her success. “Who bigger than me?” she tosses out with her unique flow during “Gimmie a Light.” Braggadocio? Sure. But she’s on her way to earning it.

Ice Spice frequently displayed her assets

While she didn’t say much in between songs during the brisk set – other than thanking the crowd that filled three levels of the venue – Ice offered a stinging intro to one of her most familiar tracks.

“I act like a brat, but bitch, I feel like a Barbie,” she declared as fuchsia lighting swarmed the stage, neon pink buildings popped up on the video screens and the insinuating beat of “Barbie Girl” – her Minaj collaboration – filled the room.  

Her confidence well-established, Ice returned to the top of the subway cars for “Plenty Sun,” bending over seductively to shake her behind before asking for some crowd participants to join her onstage – which a trio of ladies did with leg-kicking gusto.

While many of Ice’s songs follow a similar cadence – a mix of trap and drill with a dusting of pop – “Actin’ a Smoochie” offered a slithering rhythm while “Deli” spewed hard beats that incited the floor full of her “Munchkins” to bounce in unison.

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Ice Spice is as much a vibe as a rapper

Throughout her set, Ice Spice barely rested, instead segueing from the independence–establishing “In Ha Mood” to “Oh Shhh …,” one of her new tracks that features Travis Scott (whose rhymes rolled on record) to another “Y2K!” newbie, “Did it First,” with the head of the Statue of Liberty waving on the screens behind her.

As the show wound down, Ice seeped into “Fisherrr” with Cash Cobain (who opened the show), coyly trading verses over the melodic groove. But the moment was fleeting, as she soon turned the room into a party as red lights pulsed to the banging beat of “Think U the S--- (Fart).”

Ice Spice might not be the most lyrically profound hip-hop star commandeering the charts, but her aura of confidence coupled with her easy charisma make her a vibe worth experiencing.