Maria Kelly’s name is in lights. The first thing you notice as the DMV artist walks across the room is “RICCCO”—long for her rap alias Rico Nasty—scrolling across her dark platform boots in LED bulbs. It’s a bold move, and there are far worse ways to make an entrance.
Rico Nasty isn’t a household name but she aspires to be, if her choice in footwear is anything to go by. Her biggest hits to date, like 2016’s “iCarly” and “Hey Arnold,” and this year’s “Poppin’,” sound like Nickelodeon slime dragged through the lean-infused streets of Atlanta before taking a pit stop in Chicago’s drill country. The songs are catchy and forceful, and introduced the world to Rico’s penchant for crafting half-sung, half-yelled bars she calls “yinging.”
What you quickly notice in conversation with Rico is a distinct split between her personas, which she alludes to in the interview. Tacobella is the name given to the saccharine and vulnerable side of Maria. For brief flashes, she shows pride when talking about her father, opens up about the difficulties of being a rapper on the rise, and connecting with UPS women over Fenty Beauty by Rihanna. It is this character that is front and center on the excellent 2017 project, Tales of Tacobella.
However, lurking below the surface is Rico Nasty. Confident, brash, and ready for war at a moment’s notice, she is a rapper’s rapper. It isn’t hard to see that this is the side that crafted “Poppin,” one of her biggest hits to date (and was featured in season 2 of HBO’s Insecure). It’s at her most aggressive that Rico’s most unique flows come into play; she modulates her voice at a moment’s notice to go from sweet to raspy and guttural—think Nicki Minaj with a hint of DMX, but over bubblegum beats.
During her headlining New York show at Baby’s All Right, both versions of these women came together for a blistering performance. By the end of the night Rico asked an adoring crowd what song she should play again, and in unison, the crowd screamed “Poppin.” She then beckoned to the crowd, and a sea of women rushed the stage to perform her soon-to-be hit alongside her. Rico joined Snapchat videos soundtracked by the infectious words, “I’m a poppin ass bitch let me remind ya.” For a moment, Rico Nasty did what very few rappers know how to do: make every single fan feel like a star.
