Rico of the House Nasty, first of her name, breaker of trap chains, mother of her son Cameron and an entire rap scene, has returned with RX. Less than eight months after the release of the deluxe edition of her Fueled by Ramen debut, LETHAL, Ms. Nasty is confidently re-establishing her place among rage rap’s frontrunners.
Rico Nasty has reunited with her long-time producer Kenny Beats, now known as Kenneth Blume. Together, the MC and beatmaker are recalibrating the trap scene through the whole of their respective experiences.
Exploring Their Working Relationship
The pair first explored their working relationship in 2018 with “Smack a Bitch,” a brooding, electric adventure that indeed sounded like a slap-worthy soundtrack. Nasty and Blume went on to firmly establish their partnership in 2019 with the joint mixtape Anger Management. Compared to its collaborative predecessor, RX is chaotic, bright, loud, and dizzying (complimentary). Anger Management was ambitious conceptually, but didn’t quite feel like Rico was thoroughly letting loose. RX, on the other hand, finds both artists operating at their creative peaks.
In particular, Blume’s beats feel much more expansive and bold, which in turn gives Rico ample space to spread her wings. Clocking in at nine tracks and just under 21 minutes, RX benefits most from the lack of collaborations. There are no other MCs on the album, and the only other production contribution comes from Dylan Brady of 100 Gecs, who produced “Butthead.” The sparing use of outside voices allows Rico and Blume to lock in with each other.
A Creative Peak
And lock the fuck in, they do. “Oh shit, is this that new Rico Nasty? When she hits that ‘Kenny’ tag, you know it’s about to go down,” a Trap-A-Holics era-like voice says at the top of “CDG Foams.” We hear the now-iconic tagline — “Kennyyyyy!” — and off we go, with Blume just smashing us over the head with the hardest shit he can muster. He was more reserved on Anger Management; in hindsight, Blume might have been holding back, which feels crazy to say.
Rico, though? She’s been giving it her all since day one, impatiently waiting for everyone to catch up. “I’m so cocky about what I do and I know that what I did was fresh and new,” Rico Nasty told Schön! Magazine in June 2025. One of the originators of the present iteration of punk rap, and the founder of the sugar trap sound that she dominates, Rico Nasty has never needed a handout.
Underlining Her Status
If anything, Rico is using RX to underline her status as one of the most influential contemporary rappers. “I know I started hella shit, but I don’t even like to boast,” she raps on the hook of the bouncy, bubbly, yet distorted “Blow Your Nose.” She’s the matriarch of Monaleo’s aggression, TiaCorine’s kaleidoscopic look and sound, Bktherula’s alternative trap, and Flo Milli’s brash brattiness. She recognizes her impact, and she’s emphatically telling us that she should be mentioned amongst the SoundCloud rap generation that became mainstream stars (see: Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, Playboi Carti, Denzel Curry). She’s all the fun of the male rage rappers without the problematic antics and occasionally toxic fanbases.
Forever up for a challenge, Rico outdoes her SoundCloud rap peers on “Kiss N Make Up.” Over Blume’s production, which sounds like <strong=Wiz Khalifa’s “We Dem Boyz” if it stomped across a stage on platform heels, Rico provides an ode to multiple selves that have come to co-exist within her. The song serves as a space for her personalities to “fight” and come back together, kiss and make up. It’s the perfect foundation for Rico’s abundant attitude, which she also aims outside of herself: “These hoes need some help and assistance/ Why would you fuck for a wristband?”
In conclusion, Rico Nasty is back with a vengeance, and her new album RX is a testament to her unapologetic style and unbridled energy. With Kenny Beats by her side, Rico is cementing her place as one of the most innovative and influential rappers in the game. RX is a must-listen for fans of Rico Nasty and anyone looking for a dose of unapologetic, in-your-face rap music.
Pixel P. Snarkbyte, widely regarded as the “Shakespeare of Sh*tposts,” is a video game expert with a unique knack for turning pixels into punchlines.
Born in the small town of Respawn, Pennsylvania, Pixel grew up mashing buttons on an ancient NES controller, firmly believing that “blowing into the cartridge” was a sacred ritual passed down through generations.
Pixel P. Snarkbyte: proving that life, much like a buggy open-world game, is better with a little lag-induced chaos.
