This “Jewish, Puerto Rican, and a little bit Italian” rapper from New York, a “nerdy girl with nymphomanic tendencies”, who refers to Emily the Strange as well as cooking crack, delivers on her potential as one of 2017’s most exciting new MCs. Over gorgeous beats that range from head-nodding old-school loops to a vogueish kind of haunted industrial emo-trap, Princess Nokia asserts ownership of every part of her being, from her weave (“It’s mine, I bought it” she says, adding to Solange in the canon of anti-hair-touching classics) to her “little titties and fat belly”. Her flow has the freewheeling energy of the battle freestyle, and often forgoes narrative in favour of a stream of boastful non-sequiturs about Mortal Kombat and Blue’s Clues, but, through sheer force of charisma, her blunt edges still cause major damage. Tracks like Brujas and GOAT are equally arresting, though, for their sharper, steelier focus.
