KYLE, iSpy | 1 Hit WONDERful

In the 29th edition of 1 Hit WONDERful (2024), we highlight “iSpy” performed by rapper KYLE featuring Lil Yachty. 

It only takes ONE hit to solidify a musical legacy 💯! On 1 Hit WONDERful, we highlight songs that were the SOLE hit by a given musician.  It is possible that the artists appearing on this list earned a minor hit or two, BUT for the most part, that ONE hit earned them recognition. So, in the 29^th edition of 1 Hit WONDERful (2024), we dive into “iSpy” the one-hit wonder by KYLE.

“I spy with my little eye / A girlie I can get ‘cause she don’t get too many likes / A curly-headed cutie I can turn into my wife / Wait, that means forever, ever, hold up, never mind.” Word. Light of Mine, the platinum-certified debut album by rapper KYLE, ends on a high note with “iSpy”. On his breakout hit, he collaborates with fellow rapper, Lil Yachty. How much of a ‘breakout’ was “iSpy”? It peaked at no. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.  In 2022, it was certified octuple platinum 🤯. While KYLE earned another platinum single with “PLAYINWITME”, surprisingly, “iSpy” is his only single (to date) to chart on the pop charts. Lege Kale and Naz produced the bright, bubbly, and exuberant song.  It’s set in a major key, and the beat is sick!

The chorus, excerpted above, is the crème de la crème – the crowning achievement. KYLE looks for his ‘diamond in the rough’ instead of a super-popular lady. Before that happens, he and Yachty deliver an introduction that celebrates life and its possibilities: “Mmm, you see, you see these fine bitches over here?” Oh, Lil Yachty, never change! KYLE performs the first verse, filled with swagger.  He’s confident but not in a cocky way.  He has a cool, infectious personality.  “This is not the album, either, these are just throwaways / This shit still so cold when it drop, it’s gonna be a motherfuckin’ snow day.” The song appeared at the end of Light of Mine, obviously, and the single, recorded in the summer of 2016, wasn’t released until December of that same year. Lil Yachty brings his beloved eccentricity to the second verse: “She said she twenty-one, I might have to ID that / All my bitches come in pairs like balls in my nut sack.” Charming. For good measure, he adds, “Boat and Kyle stick together like piano keys / And on my mother’s mother / I won’t fuck a bitch without a damn rubber.” All told, “iSpy” is glorious to the nth degree. It is bright, bubbly, exuberant, and most of all, fun.

KYLE // Light of Mine // independent. / Atlantic // 2018

KYLE, iSpy: 1 Hit WONDERful No. 29 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; independent. / Atlantic; Elias Souza from Pexels; OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay]