Rico Nasty at Her Realest

Real Rico Nasty fans know that the rapper hasn’t always embodied just Rico Nasty.

Equipped with two boisterous alter egos, Tacobella and Trap Levigne, named after one of her go-to pregnancy cravings and Avril Lavigne, respectively, the 28-year-old has woven the two personalities throughout the majority of her discography.

Seated on the sunny side of the Hypebeast roof – after turning it into her runway for an effortlessly easy shoot of photos – I ask Rico who exactly is rapping on LETHAL, her third studio album and first project under new label Fueled by Ramen, that doesn't quite resemble either of her egos.

“I think this is Maria,” she says, referring to her birth name, Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly. “I stepped out of character and into myself.”

Just ahead of her “One Night Only” Le Pere performance, Rico revealed more on her most raw (and rageful) release of her career.

How’s your time in New York City?

It’s been really good so far. I filmed a music video on the subway. I haven’t been on the subway since I was a kid. There was a guy on the train like, “I know that girl! What do you do? Are you an influencer? I’ve seen you before!” and his friend was like, “Yo, that’s Rico Nasty, dog!” I love the New York accent.

Do you like New York City?

New York City was like my home. You can only get so big in Washington, D.C. New York City was the place that was like, “Come do shows here!” and the city has shown me nothing but love ever since. I love it here.

How did the idea for LETHAL come about?

I got tired of taking sh*t. I got tired of lying down and letting people walk all over me. I felt like I had to step into what I was rapping. You can have a good heart, but there comes a time when you realize you have to stand up for yourself. You have to be vocal. That’s what LETHAL is.

I’m an only child. I’m the oldest girl cousin. I have a lot of rage that I carry. As a kid, I never wanted to speak up, but recently, I just woke up and was like, “No, I’m not doing that.” If you have the free will to do something about the sh*t you’re going through, then do it. There are so many people who have problems they can’t fix. I had to put myself in a mindset of: “These are issues you can tackle and you better tackle them because there are people who would kill to be in your shoes.”

”I got tired of taking sh*t. I got tired of lying down and letting people walk all over me. I felt like I had to step into what I was rapping.”

This album is heavily inspired by punk music. Have you always been drawn to the genre?

I’ve always been inspired by punk and rage music. But was I in that world growing up? No. I wasn’t going to punk shows. I didn’t experience a mosh pit until I was a rapper. I feel like I don’t often get to acknowledge the different spaces I draw from because I kind of just make the music and go. People will be like “Rico, your hyperpop era!” And I’m like “...Yeah! That was a thing. It was cool. I loved it.”

You’ve tapped into so many different genres across your discography, ranging from hyperpop to techno. How do you decide what you want to tap into?

I really just … do. Sometimes you just do sh*t because you want to do it. But there are times when you do something you think is really good, and someone else comes out and does it better than you. That’s how I feel about EDM and hyperpop. There are so many artists out there who are really good at it, and it’s just their thing. I love Dylan Brady. I f*cking love Charli XCX. I love Arca. There are so many people in the space that I love and respect, and I’m just gonna leave it up to them.

In a recent interview, you spoke about the label of “rapper” and how, despite many others preferring a term like “artist,” you prefer "rapper." Could you say more about that?

Rap is what made you do it. Rap is what made you fall in love with it. You’re a rapper. I'm a rapper. Even when I do tap into other genres like hyperpop or rock, I’m still approaching them through a rap perspective.

But hey, if you can walk the walk and talk the talk, and you have pop hits under your belt and you want to call yourself a “popstar” for a week, then do it. You’re an “artist?” I want to see you draw.

The last time I saw you was when you closed out Elena Velez’s FW25 show. How does fashion play a role in this album? What’s the LETHAL look?

It’s so funny you say that because I was just thinking about how all of my albums have a certain look. Each one has a distinct makeup style or some sh*t. Honestly, this era is me not trying to do anything. I wore what I wanted to wear. I would wear what I’m wearing now out with my friends. I’m not trying to be anything. That sh*t pigeonholed me for so long – being like “I’m so edgy” or “I’m so punk.” It made me feel self-conscious when people caught me outside of those things. I was being myself when I was doing those things, but it got to a point where it started to feel a bit costume-y. I just want to wear a big coat and a little shirt.

”I'm a rapper. Even when I do tap into other genres like hyperpop or rock, I’m still approaching them through a rap perspective.”

What are your favorites on LETHAL?

After “PINK,” it just hits. It goes on a run, I'm not gonna lie. That's when I'm like, "This is my album."

What was the main sentiment that drove the writing of this album?

I wanted to say the sh*t I was scared to say.

What is your writing process like?

For this album, I stopped working at night. I used to work at night every single day. I honestly hate the fact that I’m even telling you this because b*tches is always trying to get on the sh*t that I’m on. B*tches don’t wake up early enough, though. I was in the studio by 9 a.m. every day and was out by 3 p.m. so I could get my son from school. I treated it like it was a job. I woke up, dropped him off, went to the studio, picked him up, and went home. I didn’t overwork myself to the bone.

I felt like if it's meant to be, it’ll be, and whatever I needed to say will be said. If at any point I felt like I wasn’t being intentional, I would step away. Every song on the record feels intentional in whatever feeling I was feeling at the time – vulnerable, happy, cocky, sexual, whatever the case maybe. Whatever I was feeling, I was gonna feel it."

Were there any songs that didn’t make the cut that you would’ve liked to see on the album?

There are actually four songs that are coming to mind right now, but this is just the beginning. This album feels like a kickstart. I can’t wait to keep dropping stuff.  I can’t wait to work with artists that I’m a fan of again and get back into what this shit is supposed to be, and not what people said it needed to be.

This album doesn’t sound like TacoBella of Trap Levigne … Who is this?

Right. I pulled her out of the back. I think this is Maria. I stepped out of “character” and into myself.

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