Princess Nokia’s audiovisual universe has always been one of “defiant New York City girlhood,” a celebration of self for all the Boricua misfits who prowl the city streets. Her latest video, a double feature for 1992 EP’s “Bart Simpson” and “Green Line,” catapults us into that world in full force.
The 8-minute clip is a slice-of-life look at Destiny Frasqueri’s youth. She’s a girl who spends her days acting out in class, smoking joints with her crew, and rocking oversized Slipknot tees in P.E. The breezy beats of “Bart Simpson” and “Green Line” become cinematic here, a vivid soundtrack to taboo conversations about oral sex and trips to Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Princess Nokia is here to give a voice to all those behind-the-bleachers outcasts.
Nokia is a superlative storyteller, and her autobiographical rhymes are the kind of narrative gift that speak to multidimensional brown girls everywhere. True to form, the video is compelling and raw – a mini-movie we need to see developed into a full-length feature. Keep your fingers crossed.