Stream Princess Nokia's Debut: 'Metallic Butterfly'

We're super excited to share with you Metallic Butterfly, the full-length debut of Princess Nokia. More than a few arguments have sprung up at the VICE offices over how to classify this album's sound, because it has a little bit of everything—from African drums and weird jazzy melodies to electro-synths and hip-hop beats. On each track, Princess Nokia seems to take on a different persona—jumping from an anime-style hacker in a dystopian future on one joint to an Afro-Latina Santería shawoman on another—all the while dropping lyrical jewels on everything from real love to fierce feminism and individuality. But all of the disparate influences and styles blend perfectly, making this one of the most exciting and ambitious independently released albums to come out of the New York underground in a long time.

Metallic Butterfly is a collaborative effort between Princess Nokia (Destiny Frasqueri), who first made waves under the monicker Wavy Spice with the 2012 track "Bitch I'm Posh" (this shit, however, sounds nothing like that), and studio wunderkind OWWWLS (Christopher Lare), who laced Metallic Butterfly with its gorgeous and eclectic beats.

Needless to say, we'll be bumping Metallic Butterfly all summer long. You should too. Just scroll down, press play, and allow yourself to be sucked into Princess Nokia's musical world, where hood rats, cyborgs, political revolutionaries, and spiritual mystics are one in the same.

Check out Princess Nokia's music videos for "Cybiko" and "Dragons"—both of which are the products of Princess Nokia's Smart Girl Club art collective and are co-directed by Milah Libin.

Princess Nokia as a "dark fairy." Photo by Alberto Vargas

You can follow Princess Nokia on Twitter and SoundCloud.