Rico Nasty

Rico Nasty – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Learn about Rico Nasty — her journey from Maryland to rap stardom, her bold style and sound, her philosophy, and her most memorable quotes.

Introduction

Rico Nasty (born Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly on May 7, 1997) is a boundary-pushing American rapper, singer, and songwriter known for her fierce energy, genre-blending sound, and unapologetic persona.

Often associated with punk rap, trap metal, and “sugar trap”, she mixes aggression with melodic flair, creating a space all her own in the rap and alternative scenes.

This article explores her upbringing and influences, rise in music, artistic style, personality, quotes, lessons, and her evolving legacy.

Early Life and Background

Rico Nasty was born in Largo, Maryland, and she is an only child.

Her mother is Puerto Rican and her father is African American.

She moved and grew up in various places, including Maryland, New York, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

At age 11, her mother relocated to Palmer Park, Maryland, and she was enrolled in the SEED School of Maryland (a boarding school).

She was expelled from that school at age ~14 (after an incident involving marijuana) and then transferred to Charles Herbert Flowers High School in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Around the same time, her parents separated and her father went to prison, which had a profound emotional effect on her teenage years.

While still in high school, Rico became a mother—she had a son, Cameron—yet continued working toward her music career.

During that period she also worked as a hospital receptionist before fully pursuing music.

These early challenges—family instability, parent incarceration, being a teen parent—shaped much of her emotional depth, grit, and themes of survival in her music.

Music Career & Milestones

Beginnings & Mixtapes

• Rico began releasing music while still in high school, putting out her first mixtape Summer’s Eve in 2014.

• In 2016, she released two mixtapes: The Rico Story and Sugar Trap.

• She gained local traction with tracks like "iCarly" and "Hey Arnold", the latter later remixed with Lil Yachty.

• In 2017 she dropped Tales of Tacobella and Sugar Trap 2, further refining her aesthetic and fanbase.

Breakthrough & Major Label Period

• In 2018, Rico released the mixtape Nasty, her first major-label signing under Atlantic Records.

• Key singles like "Poppin" and "Smack a Bitch" earned her widespread attention and charting.

• In 2019, she collaborated with producer Kenny Beats to release Anger Management, which was critically praised and showed her growth in aggression and stylistic range.

• She released her debut official studio album Nightmare Vacation in December 2020.

• In 2022 she released Las Ruinas, exploring darker atmospheres and dualities in her artistic identity.

• In 2025, she dropped Lethal, a rap-rock album under Fueled by Ramen, marking a further evolution in her sound.

Sound, Style & Persona

One of Rico Nasty’s defining contributions is her creation and adoption of the term “sugar trap”—a style she describes as blending "soft, beautiful, melodic, flowy vibes" with trap elements and harder edges.

She uses alter egos in her work:

• Tacobella — a more vulnerable, softer persona

• Trap Lavigne — a more aggressive, punk-rock influenced side

Her style is notably bold, combining aggressive delivery with melodic hooks, and aesthetic elements from punk, goth, emo, and rap culture.

Her image—spiked hair, vibrant colors, unconventional fashion—reinforces her identity as an outsider unafraid to break norms.

Musically, she crosses genres: rap, punk, trap, metal, hyperpop. Her performances often channel raw energy and catharsis.

Her discography reveals a trajectory: from mixtape experimentation to critically ambitious concept albums that reflect her inner world, transitions, and emotional growth.

Personality, Challenges & Growth

Rico Nasty is openly expressive, bold, and often confronts vulnerability. She has described how comparisons make her think about her own goals rather than emulate others:

“Whenever comparisons get too crazy I just think about my goals, and what I want from myself. I don't look at any references.”

She also emphasizes consistency in all parts of her artistry—not just music, but visuals, fashion, and fan engagement:

“I feel like what I'm bringing to the table … is consistency in the music … consistency in the visuals, in the fashion …”

She has spoken about the difficulty of balancing softness and strength:

“It's hard to be dainty and la la la when you're also supposed to be strong.”

Her challenges have included dealing with public scrutiny, the pressures of touring (she has said she would cry herself to sleep on tour nights), and evolving her voice beyond rage alone.

With Lethal, she seems to pivot toward merging strength with nuance, vulnerability, and musical maturity.

Famous Quotes by Rico Nasty

Here are selected quotes that reflect her ethos:

• “Whenever comparisons get too crazy I just think about my goals, and what I want from myself. I don't look at any references.”

• “I feel like what I'm bringing to the table … is consistency in the music … consistency in the visuals, in the fashion …”

• “It's hard to be dainty and la la la when you're also supposed to be strong.”

• “I’m like pixie grunge.”

• “I’ve been imagining spikes in my head since I was 13 years old.”

• “I was like, weird on purpose. I wanted to be an outcast.”

• “I use my music to express my anger and frustrations.”

These quotes show her conviction in self-expression, embracing nonconformity, and channeling strong emotions into art.

Lessons from Rico Nasty’s Journey

1. Embrace complexity. She doesn’t stay confined to one persona or style; she allows multiple facets of herself to coexist and evolve.
2. Own your uniqueness. She turned what might be considered “outsider” traits—strange fashion, spiked hair, unpolished aggression—into core strengths.
3. Forge consistency across mediums. Her artistic voice extends beyond music to visuals, fashion, and interactions with fans.
4. Use art as catharsis. Rage, pain, vulnerability—she channels them into her music, turning emotional struggle into creative fuel.
5. Don’t be boxed. She resists being pigeonholed in one genre; her willingness to experiment (e.g. rap rock) shows artistic bravery.
6. Growth is iterative. As she matures, her new works reflect deeper introspection, not just intensity.

Legacy & Impact

Rico Nasty is a key figure in redefining what female rap can sound and look like. She brings punk attitude, emotional rawness, and genre hybridity into a space often constrained by expectation.

She has influenced younger artists who want to cross boundaries, not stick to a formula. Her visual and sonic boldness provides a template for artists wanting to fuse identity, aesthetic, and voice without apology.

With her newer work (Lethal) showing ambitious genre shifts, she may prove not only as a standout in her moment but as a durable creative force capable of reinvention and staying relevant.

Conclusion

Rico Nasty is more than a rapper; she’s a creative force oscillating between ferocity and vulnerability, punk and rap, noise and melody. Her journey—from Maryland teenage mother to avant-garde artist—is rooted in resilience, authenticity, and an unflinching will to be herself.