‘The First Time’ With Rico Nasty

Rico Nasty talks primal scream therapy, her idol Rihanna, and crying to Titanic in the latest installment of Rolling Stone’s “The First Time.”

The rapper kicked things off by discussing the origins of the name Rico Nasty and the first time she performed live. She also touched on learning about primal scream therapy with her producer Kenny Beats while they were working on her 2019 mixtape Anger Management. “I always wanted a reason for why I feel so much better after I scream,” she says. “When I realized that primal scream therapy is exactly what that was, I was like, ‘We have to tie this concept into the project.’”

She also hilariously described her first concert: Chris Brown. “Please don’t kill me,” she says, remembering he performed “Take You Down” on a rotating stage. “I say ‘Please don’t kill me’ because I was like, eight years old,” she laughs. “My mom’s friend put me on his shoulders and Chris Brown pointed to me. My brain won’t let me think otherwise. Everybody on my dad’s side says I’m related to Chris Brown. So Chris Brown, if we’re related, speak now or forever hold your fucking peace, bro. Because I’m getting tired of the lies.”

Rico Nasty also mentions the first time she met Kali Uchis (at a photoshoot) and 100 Gecs (in the studio), but she claims her biggest accomplishment is meeting her idol, Rihanna. “Like, if my kids ask me what I did, I probably will just skip the rap part and go straight to the fact that me and Rihanna are friends, OK?”

She also reflects on crying while watching Titanic. “Oh my god, the first time I saw it, I was literally bawling my eyes out,” she says. “That bitch is selfish….ya’ll could have switched spots or something. Jack did not have to die. It still gets me.”