Matt Jelonek/Wire ImageRico Nasty is expected to drop her debut album this summer, but to hold us over in the meantime, the Maryland rapper has released a new track, “Lightning.”
With the single, Rico solidifies her stance as a trendsetter in this generation’s hip-hop scene, adding her own raspy, emo-adjacent rap style.
“When Sugar Trap (Rico’s 2016 mixtape) came out, it brought peace to the area. It brought general understanding, bro. Because it was these gangster-a** niggas who were like, ‘Her s*** hard,’ Rico tells DAZED.
The 22-year-old rapper also talks about her introduction to music, contributing to DMV’s eccentric music scene, and creating a stepping stone for other forthcoming females artists, like Nicki Minaj and Rihanna did for her. She also names Rated R, Nicki’s Pink Friday and Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon as some of the influential albums of her life.
“I was flipping what they were talking about. It made a safe space for the girls to start coming out again,” Rico says. “People were booking me. It was just a very fun time for the DMV. A very safe time.”
She gives a special shout-out to other local female artists, such as Chelly the MC and Pretty Savage, from Virginia.
“And much love and respect to every girl from the DMV doing your thing right now. All my female rappers. I’m very proud of everybody because it’s hard to come out of here, to getapproval,” the “Hard” rapper continues.
Rico’s Kenny Beats collab Anger Management, with tracks like “Time Flies” and “Fashion Week,” was released in early 2019.
(Video contains uncensored profanity.)
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