Many artists change the game. However, Rico Nasty reinvents, recharges, and reimagines it with every move. Instead, the Washington, D.C.-born and Maryland-raised sonic sorceress shapeshifts at the speed of the culture, infusing airtight rap with uncontainable punk energy, hyperpop unpredictability, industrial intensity, and just the right amount of heavy metal attitude. Back in high school, she made waves with a series of independent projects before reaching critical mass with 2017’s Sugar Trap 2.
On its heels, she maintained this momentum with the fan favorite Nasty in 2018. The collaborative mixtape Anger Management with Kenny Beats closed out 2019 on over a dozen year-end lists, including Complex, Dazed, Fact, The FADER, GQ, NME, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Stereogum, and Vice. During 2020, her full-length debut, Nightmare Vacation, boasted the gold-certified hit “Smack A Bitch.” Peers sought her out for high-profile collaborations, including the platinum “Tia Tamera” with Doja Cat, “#PROUDCATOWNERREMIX” with the late XXXTentacion, “¡aquí yo mando!” with Kali Uchis, and more. Rico’s’s the rare outlier who can grace the cover the XXL Freshman issue or light up Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show as an ambassador and ignite a mosh pit.
With an inimitable and influential signature style, she has reached multi-platinum status, posted up nearly 1 billion streams, and sold out countless shows. Last year she unleashed unfiltered truth with the force of a tornado through a tidal wave on Las Ruinas but from here on out Rico’s new mission is to take us back to the Sugar Trap – where it all began.
