Last year provided various music projects from Boricua’s on and off the island. One of those who provided an album with a unique voice was Princess Nokia with her debut 1992 Deluxe, an expansion to her EP 1992. In this work, the artist formerly known as Wavy Spice provides a full exploration and demonstration of the multiple elements of her identity.
(cover of 1992 Deluxe as it appears on the limited cassette edition)
Starting off with the song “Bart Simpson,” Princess Nokia demonstrates some of her lyricism to a boom-bap beat while rapping about her life as a troublemaker as a teenager. Right after that, she moves on to her turn-up single “Tomboy”, where she raps about her identity as what the title suggests. She raps about how despite her being a tomboy she can still make any guy fall in love with her, despite her “little titties” and “phat belly.” Nokia even goes on to explore her Afro-Boricua heritage with the song “Brujas.” After that she takes a hand at the topic of beauty, focused specifically on how women wear their hair in the song “Mine.” Eventually, with the song “Goth Kid”, she explores her side as a member of said sub-culture, where she would always be looked upon for the way she dressed and how she would enjoy music such as Marilyn Manson. However, this doesn’t stop her from falling into a stereotypical theme in hip-hop with the song “G.O.A.T.”, where she boasts about her being the best rapper in the game. By the album’s finale, she comes back to her main thesis and one can listen to Nokia shouting how distinct she is from others in the track “Different.”
(back art of 1992 Deluxe)
Apart from a diverse lyrical content, Princess Nokia presents her diverse musical tastes by choosing beats which are reminiscent of 1990s boom-bap hip-hop, early and mid 2000s era rap, and even the trap that now governs the airwaves. However, Nokia’s take on all these sounds is different from what one would expect. In most songs, the Afro-Puerto Rican from New York approaches the soundscapes in an aggressive and, sometimes, juvenile manner displaying her punk-rock influences. Overall, Nokia presents her diverse musical inspirations with every single track in this project.