With the growing popularity of trap music, it's not often that I venture out into 2017's world of hip hop in hopes of finding something that I actually like. Luckily, I didn't have to do any venturing to come across British rapper Nadia Rose.
I was introduced to Nadia Rose's music at Adorned by Chi's Magic & Melanin Brooklyn event. The "Skwod" music video was being projected on the wall behind The Love Shack's ornate black-and-white main staircase.
What first drew my eye was the sound. Yeah, I know how backwards that sounds, but lemme explain what I mean by that. When the beat dropped, I stopped mid-sentence in conversation to focus my full attention on the screen. I had to see what the video was like. My companions, noticing the intensity of my focus--which, if you've had the misfortune of witnessing in person, manifests itself into an admittedly terrifying stare--asked if I'd ever heard of Nadia Rose.
Still transfixed, I shook my head. "No, is she new?"
The answer was a "sorta, kinda." She wasn't exactly "new," but being a British rapper, she was new to a lot of people. And with me being someone who lives in America but has been behind on the hip hop scene since 2011, I'm the least likely to hear anything new.
Though she's new to me, Nadia Rose's music and rapping style are reminiscent of Missy Elliott, one of my oldest faves. 90's/early 2000's hip hop heavyweights Missy and Busta Rhymes were always up there on my list because of their idiosyncratic, original styles.
And despite Nadia Rose not wearing an inflatable superhero suit (Missy Elliott in the "Sock It to Me" MV) or giving the audience a big ol' helping of heavily-stylized African flavor (Busta Rhymes in the "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" MV) in her videos, I'm digging the vibes her music gives off.