Last month, Nuyorican rapper Destiny Frasqueri returned with new music as Princess Nokia. On "Drop Dead Gorgeous," she imagined the endless possibilities for what summer 2025 could be. Today, she's back with another single, "Blue Velvet," which is the tonal opposite to those seasonal fantasies; it's a darker reality check about double standards and gender inequality through a Lynchian lens. It also announces her forthcoming album Girls.
"Girlhood is a spectrum/ Pretty is destruction," Frasqueri raps on the opening verse of "Blue Velvet." She references Adam, Eve, and Lilith, calling out how religious teachings/institutions have reinforced gender norms and inequity; she explores how femininity is complicated and contradictory -- both powerful and terrifying, like the horror movie Carrie. In the second verse, she harnesses an ancestral power -- citing religious and mythological references, such as witchcraft and Persephone, Wife of Hades, god of the underworld. The single walks us through history, right up to the third verse where Frasqueri reflects on her personal experiences.
On "Blue Velvet," Princess Nokia exposes the resolute beauty and the devastating trauma attached to girlhood. She calls out her rapist, abusers, and the world around her that didn't listen to her pain: "I've been through too much, babe/ I feel like Laura Palmer/ I've been a statistic and everyone ignored me/ If I was a man, they would have coddled me, adored me/ But I am a girl so they hate my fucking guts." She uses David Lynch's character Laura Palmer from Twin Peaks to draw attention to the way women are mistreated, disposed of, and objectified even if it's fatal, even if it's posthumously.
"'Blue Velvet' is both delicate and sinister. It supports women’s rights and women’s wrongs," Princess Nokia said. "It straddles the edge of confrontation and dares predatory behavior to be reckoned with.”
Listen to "Blue Velvet" below.
TOUR DATES:
09/26 - Palm Springs, CA @ The Dinah
09/27 - Seattle, WA @ Summer Concerts at The Pier
10/04 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
10/18 - Berkeley, CA @ UC Theatre
10/22 - New York, NY @ Baby’s All Right
10/25 - Chicago, IL @ Cobra Lounge
11/02 - Berlin, GE @ Metropol
11/07 - Paris, FR @ Le Trianon
11/09 - London, UK @ KOKO
Girls is out 10/10 via Artist House.
