Inspired by fashion, ’90s nostalgia, and goth and rave culture, rapper Princess Nokia makes genre-agnostic music that confronts issues of race, gender, and sexuality.
• Prior to adopting the telecom-inspired moniker Princess Nokia around 2013, Destiny Nicole Frasqueri was known as Wavy Spice. • After her mother died from complications of AIDS, Nokia lived in several foster homes. She later ran away to live with her grandmother and father in New York City’s Lower East Side. • Named for her birth year, Nokia’s hard-hitting 2016 mixtape 1992 draws on nostalgia and childhood experiences. Boosted by seven new tracks, the collection was rereleased as 1992 Deluxe on UK indie bastion Rough Trade Records the following year. • Nokia has described herself as a “gender-nonconforming androgynous person.” She cites New York City’s gay club scene as a formative influence on her artistry. • In February 2020, Nokia simultaneously released the albums Everything Is Beautiful and Everything Sucks. The latter included the flirty “I Like Him,” which became a massive streaming hit.
