Princess Nokia was never going to be bound to one single music format; a born and raised New Yorker, she is very much a piece of the “gorgeous mosaic” a reference to the beautiful and distinctly unique cultures that rub shoulders in York City.
Nokia aka Destiny Frasqueri interviews are often informed by the many musical forms she was influenced by and collided with as a child of a Puerto Rican father and mother, who passed away before she hit her teen years. The subsequent death of her grandmother forced her into an abusive foster care home, a true nightmare situation whose only consolation prize was a mostly supervision-free upbringing, escaping through the endless nook, corners and sounds of NYC aka “inner city orphan with my hand in apple pie.”
In Nokia’s eight-song “A Girl Cried Red” mixtape, the sound ranges from folk soul and emo lyrics (“It won’t even hurt, I’m already dead…”) to ’90s-era garage rock a la The Breeders while also making use of very current electronic beats and vocal effects.
“A Girl Cried Red” is a left turn for Nokia, but it remains honest, complex and touching. Check it out below.
