Rico Nasty Is Bringing ‘Lethal North America’ Tour To First Avenue 10/3

That’s right. The one and only Rico Nasty will be taking over First Avenue’s mainroom on October 3rd!

Always the rap world's biggest rock star, Rico Nasty is known for her own particular brand of rage-rap and for her outrageous on-stage, online, volume-up persona. But as she grew up, she started to feel trapped by the character she created. LETHAL, her latest album out now on Fueled by Ramen, is a reckoning of who Rico is at 28 with the trap-pop teen persona she created more than a decade ago.

From the moment she arrived, Rico Nasty stood out. Since her breakthrough as a teenager from PG County, Maryland with her own signature blend of bubbly melodies, rage raps, and skull-rattling beats, the artist born Maria Kelly has been an iconoclastic presence in the rap game. She’s been drawn from the jump to the juxtaposition of hard and soft, countering her sweet-and-sour Sugar Trap sound with the kind of vocal cord-shredding mosh-rap you hear everywhere today. Back then, label executives called her weird for songs like 2018’s paradigm-shifting “Smack A Bitch,” which kicked open the doors to a dominant new era of “rapper as rockstar.” At a time when female rappers dressed like WWE wrestlers, Rico was serving Sex Pistols meets Rainbow Brite. But for Rico, the aesthetic wasn’t a costume or a phase. It’s one thing to dress like a rockstar — to be a rockstar is another.

Make sure to get to the show on time so you don’t miss opening act SadBoi. Toronto-based artist Ebhoni Cato O’Garro, known professionally by her stage name SadBoi, has been lauded by Pitchfork as a “rising star” and is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the music industry. A recent 2025 JUNO Award nominee, SadBoi captivates audiences with her edgy vocals, emotionally charged lyrics, and an unmistakable sound that draws deeply from her Jamaican and Antiguan roots. Her music blends reggae, baile-funk, dancehall, and Caribbean influences with elements of R&B, rap, rock, and pop to create a global sound that's uniquely hers. Her dedicated fanbase, affectionately called “The Crybabiez,” resonates with her grungy, alternative, and underground aesthetic, reflecting a fierce, unapologetic feminine energy.

Tickets to his show can be found here