Princess Nokia - Everything Is Beautiful / Everything Sucks review: Audacious and constantly surprising

These two albums, released simultaneously, reveal the many sides of Princess Nokia, AKA Destiny Frasqueri. “I dance, I rap, I sing / I do so many things,” Frasqueri says on the track Happy Place, reminding us of our multifaceted nature.

The New York rapper explores a wide range of influences. Hip-hop, R&B, soul, Latin, and other global rhythms weave their way through the albums. Gemini fuses hip-hop and rock, even borrowing the “riders on the storm” refrain from The Doors. Everything is Beautiful has a wholesome feel, led by single Green Eggs & Ham: “Have you told your parents that you love them lately?” Frasqueri lilts. By contrast, Everything Sucks is a wild ride of confrontational rap.

The songs are short; exhilarating snapshots from the life of the gender fluid Puerto Rican-American. The lyrics could have been directly lifted from Frasqueri’s secret diary.

The albums are experimental, audacious and constantly surprising. As the world lets go of traditional notions of genre and gender, Frasqueri and her music are at the helm of a revolution of non-conformity.