Catch Me In The Fridge

Blackpink & Selena Gomez “Ice Cream”

“Ice Cream” has a very mid-’00s feel to it – most specifically it reminds me of Beyoncé’s melodies in her 2005 hit “Check On It” and the particular bounce of Swizz Beatz productions from the period. But it’s also just the general vibe of that era, that hyper-glossy hedonistic rap-adjacent bubblegum as deliberate counter-programming to a more pervasive bleakness in the culture. I can see how this could grate on people with a full-time commitment to doom but I think songs like this, which deliver joy and escapism with impeccable craft, are a necessary part of the arts ecosystem. I would be dazzled by this song if just on a melodic level under any conditions, but it coming at this time emphasizes all its sass and sparkle.

This song is Blackpink’s most blatant attempt at an American crossover hit to date, and I think it’s handled very well as an introduction to the group even with Selena Gomez taking center stage in the hook and the video. Rosé, who sings the highest part of the chorus, and Lisa, who does all the rapping, are the ones who really announce themselves as stars in this song and its music video. Like CL from 2NE1 before her, Lisa is a very convincing and aggressive rapper – to some extent they both come across as people who have fully internalized the cadences of mainstream female rappers like Cardi B and Nicki Minaj the way an actor would master an accent with a dialect coach, but the performances have a real spirit to them rather than just seeming studied and rote. Lisa is certainly compelling enough to get away with lyrical references to Michael Jackson and Free Willy, or opening her solo verse with the phrase “chillin’ like a villain.”

Buy it from Amazon.