Rico Nasty

Rico Nasty wants to shout from the rooftops that she was right. “Everybody wants to be themselves, and all the girls you thought were so normal really love crazy makeup. Crazy shit.” Can you be truly yourself in a world where everybody is doom-scrolling identical reels, reading the same rage comments, laughing at the same recycled memes and trying to keep up with the same never-ending viral core-aesthetic trends? The boundless options of social media paradoxically seem to stifle individual expression, drowning it in a sea of sameness. So, how can one be original? Rico proposes a solution: disconnect. “We’re looking at everything at the same time. It’s exhausting. So just don’t. Don’t look at anything,” she says. “There is this niche group of people who are realising that, hey, we probably don’t have to post everything, and we can be selfish with our lives.” And if anyone knows how to stay true to themselves, it’s Rico Nasty.

Interview taken from METAL Magazine issue 50. Adapted for the online version. Order your copy here.

The Maryland musician, born Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly, was notoriously expelled from boarding school in Palmer Park, Baltimore, for smoking weed and dropped her first mixtape, Summer’s Eve, in 2014. She has since garnered attention for her unique raspy delivery, genre-blending versatility, and unabashedly original approach to songwriting and performance. Her fearless, punk attitude sees her boldly charting her own course, refusing to conform to expectations or compromise her vision. Despite facing scrutiny, whether for her sartorial choices or her out-of-the-box approach to music, Rico is unfazed by criticism, remaining steadfast in her authenticity and defiantly proclaiming, “I just want to let the girls know that the criticism did not break a bitch,” she says. She’s still here; she’s still alive and well… making more music!

The end of March saw the release of Rico Nasty’s Hardc0re Dr3amz, a three-track joint EP with German music producer, songwriter and Rico’s long-time collaborator Boys Noize. Building upon their previous collaborations that have resulted in tracks like Girl Crush and Money with Flo Milli, the Maryland multi-genre musician now dives headfirst into the producer’s style, showcasing a seamless fusion of her unique flair and the pulsating beats. This synergy reaches its apex in the EP’s lead single, Arintintin, where Rico fully embraces the electrifying energy of the EDM realm. The EP is a further testament to Rico’s genre-diving abilities, making each her own.

Her I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude is a breath of fresh air against the machine that the music industry has become, relentlessly pressuring the artists to churn out records or conform to the metrics-driven mindset of TikTok musicians. Rico points out the pitfalls of having an ulterior motive when creating, be it chasing numbers or external validation. “It changes the artist; it changes the motive behind the art. And I refuse to do that.” Despite the ever-evolving nature of her music and personas, keeping the fans on their toes, there is one constant: Rico being herself “through and through”.

On the day of the release of her collaborative single Scraps On with lilbubblegum, we caught up with Rico to chat all things Internet and shaved brows, discuss her artistic footprint, speak about the transformative power of forgiveness, synaesthesia, and her love for Jaden Smith. Amidst it all, we dive into Rico’s unshakeable confidence.

Let’s start by centring ourselves. What do you think the present is all about? What is 2024 about?

The common denominator I’ve been seeing is that people are becoming more selfish again. And I like that. I think people now find it kind of corny when people post every little thing on social media. There is this niche group of people who are realising that, hey, we probably don’t have to post everything, and we can be selfish with our lives. I don’t know. Maybe that’s what 2024 is about.

It does seem that people are taking a step back. I wanted to talk about authenticity, and that links to the idea of living our authentic lives away from screens. Your music is often celebrated for authenticity and rawness. How do you maintain that authenticity in an industry that sometimes prioritises image and numbers on social media over substance?

I honestly don’t know. I think I just don’t care. I really don’t. I just really don’t care. I feel like if you’re a real musician, then certain things like numbers, things that I guess everybody deems you should have when you get to a certain point; if you start paying attention to shit like that, then you will ruin your life. Literally. Like, there’s a lot of shit that people don’t have. There’s a lot of shit that artists don’t have as much as you might think that they have these things. I feel like the more you don’t pay attention to everything they point out that’s wrong, the more you can just live your life. You’re not afraid to make mistakes. Make mistakes! And that’s what is scary about the Internet or not getting the engagement per se that you feel like you should be getting. I feel like it changes the artist; it changes the motive behind the art. And I refuse to do that.

It can be challenging to block out all of the noise. But on the flip side of what we don’t have, is the idea of taking the moment to appreciate what we do have. Is it indulgent to reflect on the past achievements?

Only in moments of impostor syndrome is that healthy to do because constantly reassuring yourself of the things that you have done can become a little narcissistic. It is like, we know what you have done. I know what I have done. Keep doing it.

So, is it unnecessary to dwell on things?

Let me say this, I feel like when I dwell on shit, I try to recreate it. And my whole shit is about, like, new, new things, trying new things, creating different characters, etc. So, I try not to dwell on stuff because sometimes it makes me sad. And it’s like, oh, fuck I should have done this longer; I should have gone more into that. But if you dwell on shit, it’s not good. So, I try not to.

I was speaking to a friend the other day about the inherent shortcomings of the notions of making it or ending up somewhere. We make it to a place we have wanted to be, but it is not a static place; the present is ever-changing. What do these terms mean to you? Do you think it’s possible to ever make it?

That is such a great question. So many people always ask me, do you feel like you made it? I don’t even know what that would feel like. I just feel like myself. I guess maybe the answer is yes because I feel secure. I think there is a time when an artist comes into this industry, and you feel like, where do I go? Where is my space in all of this? There are so many talented people. Everybody seems to have their thing, so where is my place? But I had that uber early. I came out the gate swinging with my own lane. I have one moment that I look back on. And I think that that was the moment that I realised I made it. Oddly enough, even though I said I didn’t have a moment like that.

What was the moment?

I did Camp Flog Gnaw; I believe it was in 2018. Earl (Sweatshirt) had brought me on stage, and I remember it like it was yesterday because I grew up listening to Earl, listening to Tyler, the Creator and no disrespect to everybody else, but these are not just like some rappers. These are probably the most lyrical of our generation, the most creative trailblazers. And I remember performing the song and looking down and fucking Tyler and Jaden Smith are singing along and dancing to it. And I will tell you why Jaden Smith means the absolute world to me. And the craziest part. I have a very emotional tie to this man because when I was pregnant with my kid, I watched The Pursuit of Happyness. And in that moment on stage, I was like, I think that’s so weird that I’m doing what I love, even though it was so hard to get here and this little boy, that in my mind, I’m doing it all for, my Cam. The fucking same stuff right here as in the movie. It just felt really full circle. And I remember getting off that stage feeling like I could have been done right then, and I would be happy. I would feel like I did something with my life if that was the last show I ever did. And I think that’s what success should feel like, or that’s how feeling like you made it should feel like. It’s like if everything ends right now. I did that shit.

I was listening to your latest Apple Music podcast. You were talking about how working in music can get very monotonous if you are not open to trying new things, how you need people to keep you out of the box, and then you said that Boys Noize was one of those people who helped keep you out of the box. Who else and what else helps you stay out of the box?

That’s a good question. I don’t listen to the radio. But I don’t think anybody does. I just consume things that I want to. I have become very selective with what I consume because I feel like I’m a vessel. I get ideas, or I get inspiration from places, and nine times out of ten, the inspiration comes from a film or TV, or it’s like real-life scenarios with my friends and shit like that. So, when it comes to being out of the box, I think it’s just about really diving into the true human experience of just living. Once you do that, you realise we have so much more in common than you think. And thanks to our phones, we’re all looking at the same shit. So it’s really hard to be original; we are all looking at all the same jokes, and we are looking at all the same tweets and looking at all the same clothes you’re looking at. We’re looking at everything at the same time. It’s exhausting. So just don’t. Don’t look at anything and come up with your own jokes. Come up with your own lingo with your friends.

I see this one thing happening on TikTok right now. There’s this creator, her name is Ekane. Her content is super fucking original. It’s very, very original. Her mannerisms are original. She does this little thing with her tongue. The kids are going to know what I’m talking about. But she has all these mannerisms that I see other people picking up on. And I’m like, wow, it’s really insane what you can do by being yourself. How refreshing it will be to other people. And that’s my take on it.

Let’s dive into your latest EP, Hardc0re Dr3amz. Listening to the second track, Vvgina, the lyric “I hate having fun ’cause it reminds me of you” made me think about the difficulty of staying in the moment when the present is tainted by the past. How do you make sure that the past does not spoil the fun of your present?

It’s so hard. I think that’s why I made that song. Sometimes, when I’m having fun and should be living in the moment, I think about people I wish were there with me. I’m thinking about people that I wish I could share these moments with. You know, it’s no fun to win alone. I want people to know that, too. Like, who the fuck wants to win alone? You want people to champion you and be proud of you. You want the people you grind with there, pushing you along, and sometimes you don’t get that. So, the best way that I do deal with it is I’m trying to do this: I have not had a lot of relationships, but I have had certain relationships that have been screwed up. And people consistently reach out to me and say that they’re sorry. And I know that in the long run, you’re not supposed to let certain people back in your life after they’ve betrayed you or whatever. But I think it has allowed me more peace just to accept the apologies and move on. Because then, when I am having fun, I am no longer like, wow, I wonder if I’ll ever be able to have fun with this person again; I miss these memories because the door is open. You’ve accepted the apology; you might have made a joke or two and things are not that bad. So that’s what I say. Do not let past experiences harden your heart. You know, somebody fucks up, they apologise, man, like, move on. And life is way too short.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to how much space something takes up in your head.

Yeah.

Moving onto H.O.T., the last track on the EP. You have said that that track made you think of New York in the summer, roller skates, big hair. And that is a very visual way to approach music. Do you visualise all of your songs? Do they have a context you imagine them played in?

Yes, I think it’s a form of synaesthesia. It’s more like a visual thing. Some people have it about colours, but mine is more about the spaces. For example, when I make music, I can see or feel how it will be perceived. I remember Key Lime OG being the first time I experienced it. Because for Key Lime OG, the second I made that song, I heard those Ricos at the beginning of it. I could see people going like, “Rico, Rico, Rico,” and I thought that was so cool. When I perform that song, people sing the Rico part, and I added it in there specifically for them to sing it. I don’t know if that’s weird, but I find that there is a lot I can picture, and whatever I picture, I try to add more pieces of that into the song. That way, it just feels more real.

You seem to pay a lot of attention to visuals, and it shows in your cover art. They always add something to the sound. I’m interested in hearing more about the cover art for Hardc0re Dr3amz by @bookmouth.x, an incredible artist with a gritty and raw style, much like your work. You both mix mediums and genres in unique ways. How did the cover art come about?

Well, I was a fan of his for a while and saw his shit. Pretty much all of my work is about duality. It’s about something really harsh, something really brash and loud, up against something really soft, feminine and beautiful. So I love that he put a butterfly on there. We had like thirty fucking versions of it. Real quick! Thirty different versions of a detailed butterfly! I had many fans saying, oh my god, this is so simple looking.And it’s a very not simple process to make that shit. So I was like, wow, I hope that in me bringing light to simple things, people dig deeper and look at the process of how long it takes to do these things. Everything is not digital art, you know.

Speaking of digital art, there is, of course, a huge conversation about AI taking over.

Can I tell you something that is fucking shit? Look. So, in my tagged photos, I have seen those damn interviews: they have me and Boys Noize, and we are AI. It is so fucking weird. I don’t know why they’re doing that, man. Let humans be humans, man!

I was speaking to someone the other day, and they were saying that everyone thinks their art is AI, which it is not. It seems weird that artists now have to prove that what they do is not AI.

I think that what the government is trying to do is have some type of control the same way they did with television. In the same way, you could turn on the TV, and every older person around you would say nothing on this box is real. Because it wasn’t, it literally was not real. Some shit was real. But we don’t know what was real. And I feel like now, we are seeing so many real things in real time that the government is like, ah, we need to put some fake shit up in here. Because they are like, they are learning too much. We need to make them doubt. They need to see shit and think it’s not real again because we lost that. We see people getting killed. We’re seeing crazy shit on the Internet. And it’s real. That, we know, is real. Because the News is reporting it. It’s real people. But we’re becoming desensitised. I think it’s a really, really long, long, long conversation worth having. But I think that it really sucks. And musicians, artists, people that do this for a living that AI is inspired by are running a race against the fucking computer. This is crazy. But the best part is that since they’re inspired by us, they’ll always be behind. You can’t beat a human’s mind, a human experience. It’ll just be fucking gibberish. So, I don’t know. The visual part of it, like you said, artists and people who are making art and writing and get questioned if their work is AI, like that is just sad. Because people are forgetting how long art takes, how long it takes these people to do these things. We’re losing that; we’re losing the grind of it all. Everybody wants everything. The instant gratification. The instant viral moment.

Yes. And for some people, most of the fun is not about the end result; it’s the process. And we are losing that with AI.

Definitely.

Discussing your track Intrusive from Las Ruinas, you talked about how it’s just very blunt, how people always question why you do or say certain things, and that sometimes it is what it is; it is blunt. Why do you think being blunt is often criticised, but being honest is applauded?

When you’re being honest, you’re cognisant of other people’s feelings. Whereas when you’re being blunt, there is no best way to say it. It’s like you’re just saying it, and you don’t care if it hurts somebody’s feelings or makes somebody feel a certain way. And that is something that I, as a woman, am very, very blessed to have developed because it was very hard for me to say no at one point. And I have had a lot of those points. Shit, I’m literally just learning this over the past year. I am learning that it is okay to stand firm in your decision; it’s okay to be blunt. It’s okay to want something specifically and not take anything else. That is okay. That’s called having standards. Being honest is being sweeter. Whereas if you are blunt, you’re telling somebody: no, I’m not doing that. I’m not wearing that. I’m not saying that. It’s just more cunt driven.

You have said that your biggest thing is not being accepted but simply telling your story. So what story are you most excited to tell right now?

The story that I’m most excited to tell right now is the story of kicking down doors, the story of consistently doing things that are deemed repulsive. I’ve done so many things that I’ve gotten questioned for. And then I see a trail of following behind me. And I’m just happy about it. And I want to scream from the top of the treetops, that I was right, that everybody wants to be themselves and all the girls you thought were so normal really love crazy makeup. Crazy shit. Everyone was just living a lie, acting like they’re so normal, then Rico Nasty came along, and everyone was like, okay, it’s okay, we could shave our eyebrows, we could bleach our eyebrows. We could be a completely different person, the next time you see us. And I’m happy about that because that would have never happened if it wasn’t for the constant criticism that I received. And I just want to let the girls know that the criticism did not break a bitch. She’s still here; she’s still alive and well. And just, you know, making more music!

That leads to my final question, which is: what do you want your artistic footprint to be? I am guessing revolution?

Revolution, man! I hate predicting stuff. It is almost like saying your wish out loud after you blow out a candle. I want my imprint on the world to be, wow, she was herself, through and through. She was herself. Especially, like I said, in a time where people are so influenced by everything and are constantly consuming. I’m happy with the confidence that I have found in myself, and I will not let anybody take it away from me. I’m very proud of myself. And I think that is the biggest takeaway. That is what I want people to remember when I am gone: the confidence. And what it took to get it.