A Girl Cried Red – Princess Nokia

Princess Nokia is the alias of New York City native Destiny Frasqueri, a rapper whose proud individualism is related in confrontational, often humorous style. Prior to naming herself after the brand of phone made available to low-income earners in the U.S., Frasqueri went by the names Destiny and Wavy Spice, collaborated with the likes of Ratking, and became known for offhanded tracks such as “Bitch I’m Posh” and “Yaya.” After label interest heightened her skepticism of the music industry, she changed her alias to Princess Nokia and built a fan base with the mixtapes Metallic Butterfly (2014) and Honeysuckle (2015), as well as an EP, 1992 (2016), all of which were independent titles. A remastered and expanded edition of 1992, 1992 Deluxe (2017), arrived on the Rough Trade label almost exactly a year after the original edition. Frasqueri toured extensively — including club and festival dates across Europe, Scandinavia, Asia, Oceania, and the U.S. — in support of the release. ~ Andy Kellman