Rapper Rico Nasty Is Innovating Her Own Lane In The Rap Game

You know you've made it as an artist when your lyrics turn into reality, but no reminder is necessary of Rico Nasty being a poppin ass b*tch with the way her career has taken off.

Hailing from PG County, MD, Rico flipped her Instagram account into her stage name at the age of 15 and now at 21 is signed to Atlantic Records and has been named by The FADER as "one of the most spirited voices in rap."

Not being a follower of the crowd, and constantly evolving since her first mixtape The Rico Story that featured her viral single "iCarly," has led to Rico's growing fanbase. From her style of wigs in colors that range the entire spectrum, to her bold fashion statements that match her genre of "sugar trap" (where trap meets fairytales), Rico screams originality. Artists have attempted to imitate, but she no longer feeds into frustration over it.

At the pace her career is moving, she'd rather embrace the losses that come with the wins. She explained to The FADER:

"When your [art] is out [there], someone might have an opinion on it, might want to steal it, might want to remix it, might want to DJ it, might want to chuckle through it. Once that sh*t is out there you're giving your song away, you're sharing it. You can't be so upset that people start copying, that's a sign of success."

What makes Rico special is that there's no escaping her infectious rockstar energy, no matter how hard you try. Her music is the perfect soundtrack for rebelliously living life with no regrets and a middle finger in the air to any who has an issue with that. When it comes to alter egos, we should have our own Rico Nasty.

Rico has released five mixtapes in two years including Sugar Trap 2, which Rolling Stone listed in its '40 Best Rap Albums of 2017'. Rico announced earlier this month her latest project, Nasty, along with the iconic cover art with her edges spelling out its title.

Nasty is set to drop on June 15. To read her feature in full, head over to The FADER.

Featured image by Johnny Nunez/WireImage