Rico Nasty
Maria Kelly is a person of many talents, and also many names. Better known by her rap title “Rico Nasty,” and occasionally her gentler persona “Tacobella,” the 20-year-old rapper is the founder of “sugar trap,” a style of rap underscored by jubilant, bubbly beats. Rico’s sugar trap defies traditional molds of rap, incorporating pop and punk influences. The unconventional range of the Maryland-raised musician's work has been compared with the experimental styles of other big names in rap right now, including Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi Vert. But one thing should be made clear: in terms of her style and music, Rico Nasty is certainly in a league of her own.
Rico’s music debut came in 2014 when she released a twelve-track mixtape titled Summer’s Eve at only sixteen years old. As if this isn’t impressive enough, Rico gave birth to a son at the age of eighteen, and has since mastered balancing her accelerating career with her role as a mom. Though the birth of Rico Nasty’s son caused her to take a break from music, she began to rap again in 2016, propelling herself into the spotlight with the release of “iCarly.” Shortly following the success of this upbeat trap song, Rico dropped another children’s TV-inspired track called “Hey Arnold,” which also enjoyed significant popularity. Since the release of these hits and the resulting spike in Rico’s popularity, her style as an artist has continued to evolve. She channels more melodic and acoustic influences in her 2017 mixtape Tales of Tacobella, which she claims represents her softer, more lyrical Tacobella persona. But more recently, Rico has begun to play with harder, punk-heavy beats in tracks like “Smack a Bitch” and “Trust Issues.” These songs deviate from her traditional sugar trap style. With a feature on Lil Yachty’s “Mamacita” and the recent success of her own song “Poppin,” Rico Nasty’s experimentation with different styles and genres has certainly paid off.
While her novelty as a musician is certainly impressive, Rico Nasty’s music is not the only unique thing about her. Rico’s sense of fashion is fresh and bold, ranging from striking hairstyles to platform boots, studded collars, and gothic styles with chains and laces. Much like her musical repertoire, her style is almost paradoxical in its diversity. It lies somewhere in the realm of Candy Land-meets-the underground punk scene, yet somehow it just works. Rico is a dynamic personality in both her artistry and her image; one minute she’s rocking electric blue tresses that put Blueno to shame, and the next she’s flaunting a mohawk with braids. Honestly, Rico’s aesthetic is so solid it’ll be a miracle if she makes it through Spring Weekend without getting mistaken for a RISD student.
Whether we will see Tacobella-style sugar trap or harsher Rico Nasty beats at Spring Weekend, it’s anyone’s guess. But if you want to study up on Rico’s eccentric music style before this weekend, you should check her out on Spotify. Be sure to listen to top tracks like “Poppin,” "Trust Issues," and “iCarly,” as well as a new track that just dropped last week, called “Hit That."Images via, via, via, and via.