Maryland recording artist Rico Nasty finally releasing her sophomore effort. Turning heads in 2018 off her 6th mixtape Nasty, I was still very much impressed by her unique personality & her eclecticism although it was just ok. However the next spring, she got Kenny Beats to produce her debut EP Anger Management in it’s entirety & that ended up being my favorite body of work of hers even to this day. Nightmare Vacation was a bit of a step down from Anger Management even though it has a good share of bangers like “iPhone” & “10Fo”, but Las Ruinas showed a more experimental side to her & A Nasty Summer was kinda mediocre truthfully. HVRDC0RE DR3AMZ produced by Boyz Noize showed improvement building further anticipation for Lethal approximately 12 months later.
“Who Want It?” produced by Rogét Chahayed kicks it all off with an industrial hardcore hip hop intro asking if anyone wants smoke with her whereas “Teethsucker (Yea3x)” works in elements of rap rock, trap metal, pop rap & pop punk boasting that she has pulled up to the spot. “On the Low” fuses pop rap, trap, electropop, rage, digicore & pluggnb promising she’ll keep this relationship she has on the DL leading into the bubbly “Pink” talking about her bitch’s favorite color.
Pop rap, experimental hip hop, Jersey Club rap, digicore & emo rap all collide during the final single “Butterfly Kisses” moving like a nomad making her neighbors thinking she’s selling keys while “Eat Me!” keeps the aggressive trap flares going talking about people looking up to her these days. “Soul Snatcher” boisterously runs with the paper taking guys’ souls since the head was so good, but then “Grave” darkly talks about rocking shit as if she’s ripping a guitar.
“Son of a Gun” gets back in her trap metal roots so she can advise not to run whenever she shows up & refusing to let anyone put batteries in your back while “Smoke Break” turns the heaviness up talking about fucking shit up for herself. “Crash” brings a pop punk vibe to the table looking for a place she can let off some steam much like waves while the cloudy “Can’t Win ‘Em All” asks if she’s a bad person & if it’s ever enough.
The song “Say We Did” reaches the backend of Lethal finding Rico in her sassy bag having a trick or 2 up her sleeve & becoming unsure of what this person in her life exactly wants while “You Could Never” disses those who’re trying to steal her shine & people criticizing her for being too out of the box when that’s what made many including myself pay close attention to her. “Smile” is an acoustic closer dedicated to the special someone in her life while “Pepper” starts the deluxe run reuniting with Kenny Beats to flex her new Attico boots.
“Pretea” takes inspiration from pop punk again singing about her being a diva while the cloudy trap crossover “Pearls” telling anybody who’s sittin’ down the section that they’re not gettin’ lit enough. “Black Lace” shifts towards a rage-inducing direction suggesting this bitch is late to findin’ out about her when approached regarding Rico being late to a party & the final bonus track “Stunna” boisterously talks about being a top dog.
Feeling there was an investment she needed to make in herself, Lethal further reveals every facet of Rico Nasty whether it’s the styles that made her a household name or more guitars than previously & even touching on her own motherhood journey. She taking the energy of her previous output & channels it in a very cocky way with the production drawing inspiration from rap rock, trap metal, pop rap, pop punk, industrial hip hop, hardcore hip hop, electropop, rage, experimental hip hop, Jersey Club rap, digicore & emo rap.
Score: 3.5/5
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