Rico Nasty - LETHAL

Rico Nasty, a pioneer of contemporary rage-rap, is “putting her flag on the moon,” so says press material. Indeed, on third record, ‘LETHAL’, there’s a concentration of craft that reaffirms her stake in the rap-rock genre revival and the moves she made to reanimate it. For this, ‘LETHAL’ is her most cohesive output, and most signature: she showcases aggro-rap chops on ‘Son of a Gun’, while the throat-slashing screamo bridge of ‘Smoke Break’ - and its ‘90s anime pop-punk refrain - leave no doubt she’s been commanding the niche since those early mixtape days. All the while, she retains the sickly-sweet sugar trap that jettisoned her initial debut, drawing threads to various alt-rap contemporaries that rose in the ranks since. “I don’t sound like anyone,” she asserts on the digitally glistening ‘Butterfly Kisses’, “the bitches sound like me.” Some cases in point: the record’s most straightforward track, the Doja-Cat-esque ‘On The Low’, which highlights how modern hyperpop-trap is, at its best, Rico Nasty-indebted; or the artsy punk of ‘Crash’, which feels like a sibling to present-day 070 Shake alt-pop. ‘LETHAL’, firmly reasserting the Rico Nasty legacy, is an alluring feat for the US rapper that feels just as trendy as it is against the grain.