Rico Nasty Brings The Heat to Pomona
Graphic by Rosi Martens
Images by Mila Solenberger
From her high-engery stage presence to her edgy sound, Rico Nasty is truly what it means to be punk. She has mastered the art of genre-bending, specifically sugar trap with metal influences, rejecting the status quo and embracing diversity. The Maryland native released her rap-alt rock record Lethal in May, followed by a much anticipated 27-show tour of the same name.
At the Glass House Pomona on November 2nd, excited fans rushed the barricade to secure their spots for the night. The opener, SadBoi, hypnotically entranced the crowd with her suave demeanor and hard-hitting hooks. The MC warmed up the audience by playing upbeat pop remixes. Once SadBoi took to the stage, the crowd was eagerly singing back to her during “Baddies,” “Bitches Over Boys,” “No Time,” “Acknee” and “Complicated”. To close out the set, she played a cover of “We Are Young” by fun. to keep the momentum going.
Grinning ear-to-ear, Rico Nasty makes her debut on stage, clearly happy to be performing. The setlist was dynamic and surprising, bouncing from the new record to her big hits and even some deep cuts for the OG fans. She kicked off the night with “WHO WANT IT” off of Lethal, which had the crowd chanting back to her. Clearly, she already had the audience in the palm of her hand, which was impressive to witness.
The first half of the set was reserved for a majority of Lethal, with “BUTTERFLY KISSES,” “ON THE LOW,” and “PINK” as the stand outs. Going from the grittiness of “Gotsta Get Paid” and “STFU” into the hyperpop world of “IPHONE” felt like sonic whiplash in the best way. The fan favorite was “Tia Tamera”, her beloved collaboration with Doja Cat, which caused an uproar amongst the audience.
Towards the second half of the set, Rico kindly warned the pretty girls to move out of the way if they weren’t going to mosh. The pit opened up for “OHFR?,” but the raging progressively got more intense during “Smack A Bitch,” and “TEETHSUCKER (YEA3x)”. With a full and gravelly tone, the singer is in total control of her vocal distortion and delivery during these difficult songs.
Before Rico left the stage, she acknowledged a fan in the audience who was holding up a sign. The fan in question was requesting “SMILE,” one of her favorites and another Lethal track. This took Rico by surprise, since she claimed that this was a bit of a deep cut, but obliged anyway. That is the true magic of a Rico Nasty show: you’ll never know what you’re going to get.
As the Lethal era is coming to an end, this night proved that Ms. Nasty has the same range and stamina as any other alternative performer.
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