Rico Nasty made music for a crashout long before the phrase became a popular Gen-Z mantra. Since her ascent in the late 2010’s, she has always brought rage and angst to rap—becoming one of the genre’s loudest and most formidable rockstars. But the 28-year-old’s brand of rap-rock is glistened with sexy and self-assured lines you’d find in a soul greatest hits bin. Need to feel like the queen of the bedroom? Her 2020 track “Pussy Poppin (I Don’t Really Talk Like This)” has you covered. Need a confidence-booster? “Smack a Bitch” could soundtrack any fight. On LETHAL, Rico Nasty’s third studio album, the rapper adds another element to her sugar trap sound: vulnerability.
Across 15 tracks, the LP paints an intimate portrait of an artist whose penchant for rage is just as strong as her motivation to grow. Ahead of the album’s release, Nasty revealed that she parted ways with her creative team and label, making LETHAL her first album with Fueled by Ramen, the home to punk rock acts like Fall Out Boy and twenty one pilots. In turn, her new material feels like a much-needed reset. For the first half of LETHAL, Nasty aces the art of having a chameleonic tone that can adapt to any sound. “TEETHSUCKER (YEAH 3X)” finds her diving head-first into the mosh pit that made her a rap rockstar to begin with. Then, she goes full bubble-trap with the sweet and soothing “ON THE LOW” which, on its surface, sounds like a true early offspring of the recent BRAT era, but Nasty adds her own candy-coated punk flair, turning a song about sex into a dreamy first date while riding the Imad Royal-produced beat like a wave
On “PINK,” she taps into the divine feminine for a punk-pop-infused track leaning into all the braggadocio that comes with being a bad bitch: “Keep my lashes on the sink / Ain’t a damn thing I do free / Can’t keep these boys off me.” “SOULSNATCHER” features a similar bravado but returns to Nasty’s signature rage-driven, scream-filled rock sound. On “GRAVE,” she dives deeper into her trap sensibilities while employing a squeaky voice that’d make for an apt Playboi Carti feature. Nasty continues the momentum with “EAT ME!,” where, for nearly three minutes, she takes listeners on a shit-talking ride that sounds like the amusement attraction you never want to end. Her hard-hitting bars on pride and power become even more biting after the beat flip: “Only time I look down is when I check out my shoes / All of this shit ’cause I pray to Jesús / Got competition, bet it ain’t you.” Rico Nasty is a firm believer in understanding how and why she’s that girl.
Though the latter half of LETHAL is more subdued and without the same thrill as the record’s intro tracks, Nasty’s lyrics become more introspective as the record lingers on. “CAN’T WIN EM ALL” centers her gripe with unrequited love: “Put you on a pedestal, put you on the game / It’s already clear that you wouldn’t do the same.” She returns to her confidence with the anthemic “YOU COULD NEVER,” reflecting (and doubling down) on her successful career trajectory, regardless of those who’ve failed to understand her since Nightmare Vacation five years ago and earlier. Compared to her other self-assured tracks, “YOU COULD NEVER” feels more personal: “They thought I was crazy, too out of the box / Then they step in my shoes and they see how I’m treatеd / Never complained, thеy was bashing my name / But I wasn’t afraid, l came back from my demons.”
Low moments on the album arrive during “SAY WE DID” and “CRASH.” The former is an outlier buoyed between bouts of heavy introspection, while the latter repeats Nasty’s previous interrogations of escapism without moving the story forward. But those tracks don’t completely distract from her vulnerability on LETHAL, which is most potent on closing track “SMILE.” Backed by acoustic guitar, the song is an ode to her son, to whom she gave birth as a teenager. The song isn’t as loud or nearly as rowdy as album openers “WHO WANT IT” or “TEETHSUCKER (YEAH 3X).” And it doesn’t need to be.
Heartfelt and calming, “SMILE” is unlike any Rico Nasty song you’ve heard before. The artist trades her raps for bluesy vocals, wearing her heart on her sleeve while crafting a folksy lullaby that only she can create: “You have all the best parts of me,” she croons in the pre-chorus, a fitting conclusion for an album that showcases the best elements of her ever-evolving artistry. Although she doesn’t carry that refinement throughout all of LETHAL, Rico Nasty gives us glimpses of a rap rockstar with no intentions of slowing down.
DeAsia Paige is an Atlanta-based music critic and culture reporter. Her writing has appeared in Pitchfork, NPR Music, Elle, Teen Vogue and more.
