Biography

Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly (born May 7, 1997), known professionally as Rico Nasty, is an American rapper and singer. She began self-releasing while in high school, and had released five solo mixtapes by late 2017. She gained a local following on SoundCloud with her songs "iCarly" and "Hey Arnold". After gaining wider recognition with her 2018 singles "Smack a Bitch" and "Poppin", she signed with Atlantic Records to release her sixth mixtape, Nasty (2018). The label released her collaborative mixtape Anger Management (2019) with Kenny Beats, as well as her first two studio albums, Nightmare Vacation (2020) and Las Ruinas (2022); the former album peaked the US Heatseekers charts. She then parted ways with the label in favor of Fueled by Ramen and Elektra Records, who released her third studio album, Lethal (2025).