Rico Nasty’s new album ‘Las Ruinas,’ literally transports us back in time to the height of Tumblr and when it was ‘THE’ social media platform. Buckle your seatbelts, the album is a rollercoaster!
Maria-Cecilia professionally known as Rico Nasty started this album era with the aggressive yet haunting single, ‘VADERZ’ which features another female rapper Bktharula. The song would surely serve as a taste-tester for the album, although it doesn’t demonstrate the true sound of the album in its entirety.
Rico’s adaptability is on full display throughout Las Ruinas.
One thing for sure and two things for certain, her signature rap and singing style is fully demonstrated throughout this entire album. She has songs like Intrusive, Dance Scream, Blow Me, One On 5, and Focus On Me which each shows how she can go from one extreme to another.
Sonically, this album keeps you on your toes because you don’t know where she will take you. She feeds every listener something meanwhile maintaining her identity and not losing herself in the sea of commercialism.
Las Ruinas is ear candy but is the flavor pleasing your tastebuds?
Again, the approach to this album is completely unique to Rico and would be a staple in many major festivals. It has a home at Lalapalooza, Afropunk, Coachella and many more that really celebrates artists like her. Her music isn’t something you’d typically hear at an everyday hip-hop club generally, albeit a select few tracks.
Individuality and unique approaches should always be celebrated within every community. Alt-Rap or Punk Rap shouldn’t be just delegated to “weirdos” or a smaller sect of people, it’s for everyone who can identify with the content and enjoy the sound.
Listening to Las Ruinas gives people a moment to lose themselves.
Rico’s album has quite a few standout tracks, but my personal favorites are ‘Easy’ which is more delicate than the majority of the tracks, One On 5 which is more of a positive track with female empowerment messages and Black Punk which just screams Rico Nasty!
The album itself has a lot of replay value, her versatility is noteworthy and the direction this album takes you on ends in a way that one wouldn’t expect. The album itself earns a rating of 4.5/5 stars which is a testament to the quality. I’ll conclude with lyrics from the song ‘One On 5.’
Bark on these boys so they call me a bitch
My haters carbon copies, they counterfeits
You don’t really hate me, you love you some me
Be real with yourself, girl, you love what you see…
