Thank God for Princess Nokia
In a world where the musical mainstream used to be dominated by lyrical beasts with entirely different styles and flows which were coupled with admirable mindsets outside of rap, that time has passed for a while now. Although the top dogs in the rap game have change from Jay-Z to J-Cole, from Lil Wayne to Drake, from Kanye to Kendrick and many more respected artists, they are not given as much affection as current and upcoming artists (millennials, generation Z, boomlets, etc.).
Flow, popularity and doing dumb stuff in public while putting it on Instagram and Twitter is what catches their eye. Yet, with one side of the spectrum there is always a complete opposite on the other side. There is a message even in the “turn up” tracks. For every trap song loaded with hardships and struggle is another song to lift your spirit and make you feel good. With the Lil Pumps and Danielle Bregoli’s of the world, the antitheses of artist like this isn’t defined by anymore than Princess Nokia.
Hailing from Harlem, New York, the 25-year-old Afro Latina’s nerdy and gothic, yet, nitty gritty background plays a key part in her shift between hip hop & r&b sound. Her music includes alternative and almost gothic undertones. Having only touched the surface on the impact she could make in music and in the mindsets of those yet to listen to her, she has many more opportunities to come. However, the true beauty of Princess Nokia is far outside the realm of music. What makes her truly different from her counterparts is her political consciousness. In comparison to the rest of the present and future of rap, no one can touch.
Touching on subjects such as the femininity in hip hop, the affects that artists’ word and ideas have on their listeners, and the authenticity of what goes into being a rapper, she offers an insight unlike anyone else in her class. Talking about how hip hop incorporated punk into it before it became corporate, how she as a woman turning what would be recognized as ugly or flawed into an aspect to be eventually accepted as beauty, and how femininity has no one form to it is what makes her truly profound. Wrapped up in a petite Puerto Rican frame topped off with a raspy yet angelic voice to draw her audience in.
The game has needed more prominent female figures to look up to. I personally feel that she can have an affect that lasts forever in rap as she is exactly what we need, and yet we don’t deserve as much as we really do. All in all, I only have one thing left to say: thank God for Princess Nokia.