Written for B-Side Magazine (2017)
Spring Weekend 2017: Princess Nokia
Artist Profile by Yasmine Hassan
It takes a special sort of artist to perform as one of Spring Weekend’s most anticipated acts, as well as share her thoughts on “spirituality, feminism, and race” in a sold-out Women’s History Series talk at the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center. But Destiny Frasqueri is just that sort of artist.
Frasqueri has adopted a number of monikers over the course of her career. These days, she is best known under the guise of the high-energy, don’t-give-a-fuck persona Princess Nokia, but it is impossible to understand the thought and artistry behind Princess Nokia without first understanding her personal background and complex past.
Destiny’s identity is a whirlwind of intersections and contradictions. A proud Afro-Nuyorican who spent her adolescence drifting between Spanish Harlem and the Lower East Side, she’s both self-proclaimed New York tough kid and classic Boricua shorty, unapologetically punk tomboy and traditional Caribbean woman--a person who fully embraces all of her hard and soft edges, and who is equally grounded in and inspired by her roots, her ideals, her favorite comic books, and the “cinematic landscapes” of her native New York. Having lost her mother to HIV/AIDS at the age of ten, she was forced to deal with an abusive household after becoming a product of the foster care system. Before running away to the Lower East Side at the age of sixteen, it was the surrounding queer communities who helped raise her; she became a “club kid,” go-go dancing, attending vogueing competitions, and wholly immersing herself in the local underground creative scene.
This time spent in the Lower East Side, explains Frasqueri, is what catalyzed her career as Princess Nokia--and as a “legitimate” musician. Before the era of Princess Nokia, she was just Destiny, and subsequently, Wavy Spice, an artist who would infrequently post tracks on SoundCloud. Mostly, though, she would revel in the freedom of playing underground, “high-powered punk shows... performing, making people feel good, [and] singing songs that people [couldn’t] get online.” Her first track, “Destiny” (recorded 2010, released 2012), only gained modest popularity online, but it read like a prophecy. “I'm doing shit so legit it’s beyond you / My characteristic spit, I’ll admit it’s beyond you / My shit is X-Men, I'm a mutant you can’t see me / blowing up the masses like the invention of the TV”
Shortly after, she would release a second track, titled “Bitch I’m Posh.” With its lush, metallic synth piano and backdrop of classic house percussion, as well as her “posh” voice spitting lines replete with QTPOC slang, the track clearly harkens to her roots in the queer club scene. Faced with the international recognition that followed, Frasqueri then felt the pressure to create a record in lieu of her usual, experimental approach to music. Soon followed tracks like “YAYA” (a dedication to her indigenous roots, its title meaning “Great Spirit” in Taino) and “Versace Hottie” (which serves Azealia Banks vibes, but without the mess that is Azealia Banks).
Within a month of “Versace Hottie,” Frasqueri reimagined herself as “supernatural hood fairy” Princess Nokia. First came “Nokia”, a nod to “ghetto girls”, early 2000s butterfly-clips-and-glitter aesthetics, and Japanese pop culture. (Who else could get away with sampling Utada Hikaru’s “My Sanctuary” from Kingdom Hearts and singing “Konnichiwa / Me llamo Nokia / y me gusta Pokemon” in the same song?) Then was “Dragons,” a track inspired by her fascination with the relationship between Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo of Game of Thrones, but accompanied by a standalone video love story made of arcade game kisses and quotidian bedroom scenes. With the release of mixtapes ‘Metallic Butterfly’ and ‘Honeysuckle,’ as well as her first EP ‘1992’, her discography expanded to include irreverent, attitude-packed hits “TOMBOY” and “KITANA,” for which she has gained widespread notoriety.
Of her most recent artistic transformation, Frasqueri says, “As Princess Nokia I can project the multi-dimensional aspects of myself that I could not express with the name Wavy Spice. I can venture into any realm of music or character of my choosing without confusion. I’m making worldly music that will talk to all kinds of people: Banjee girls in Harlem, teen brides in the Middle East, gay boys in East Asia. Labels no longer matter. My new music is cosmic and three dimensional, and it will really speak of who Princess Nokia is. Princess Nokia is sound. It is progression. It is all that I am.”
But despite the commercial success of her records, her live shows cling tightly to the independent spirit and “New York flavor” that has shaped her. As the first set of the first Spring Weekend to actively prioritize female artists of color, she will certainly bring those street-smart vibes of progression and multi-dimensionality that she describes.
Her live presence is distinct; it’s high energy and aggressive, but also deeply considerate, protective, and steeped in personal narrative. She rides the line between expressing her self-purportedly sweet, caring nature and her constructed identity of a tough, urban woman--her reputation for insistently bringing women and femme fans to the front of rowdy crowds only exemplifies this interplay. Though it’s unclear as to whether she’ll prioritize her newest tracks or her Wavy Spice sleeper hits, her set will certainly make for an unforgettable opening to an unforgettable weekend.