Artist: Rico Nasty
Album: Lethal
Label: Fueled By Ramen
Link: https://www.riconastymusic.com/
Style: Rap, Hip-Hop, RnB
Once again, rapper Rico Nasty pushes the boundaries of rap and hip-hop, drawing inspiration from both hard rock and soft pop on her trap album Lethal.
Daughter of American rapper Beware, Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly never imagined herself working in music as a child. It was in high school that she began producing mixtapes. Around this time, her boyfriend died of a codeine overdose, and just after his death, she learned that she was pregnant with his child. She decided to leave the rap scene to raise her child and took a job as a receptionist for two years. But the call of music was stronger! In 2016, she released a series of singles that met with success on the Internet, including one in the Fast & Furious soundtrack, giving her enough exposure to sign to the Atlantic label.
Rico Nasty’s music is still based on early trap, but far from being confined to it, it can veer towards a punk-rap reminiscent of the first mixes to appear in the 90s, or conversely, plunge into modern hyper-pop that doesn’t forget to add a sweet soulful touch. Overall, everything she does is characterized by a dose of one-upmanship characteristic of this kind of music, where the competitive spirit remains a driving force. Passages reminiscent of Marylin Manson or Blink-182 rub shoulders with genuine pop ballads and tracks more rooted in modern rap, without the segues being overly destabilizing.
A record full of excess, it shines for its production quality, like recent albums by well-known American rappers. It’s a pleasure to listen to, even with a fine system, as the dynamics are often called upon and the bandwidth descends in depth, but always subtly enough so that the bass can also be heard on installations less inclined towards this register. Although based on electronic instrumentation, the timbres have a welcome freshness, often pleasing in their pleasing variety. The soundstage is also very well exploited by the mastering work, this necessary accompaniment being generally superbly managed by US studios.