Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly (born May 7, 1997), known professionally as Rico Nasty, is an American rapper and record producer. Originating her career from Maryland, Kelly and was exposed to rap music at a very young age. Kelly released two mixtapes in 2016:The Rico Story and Sugar Trap. Both tapes gained her notable attention from the media and the general public. 　　In June 2018, Kelly signed to Atlantic Records after releasing her fourth mixtape, Nasty. 　　Early life 　　Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly was born an only child on May 7, 1997 in New York City, to a Puerto Rican mother and an African American father. Kelly was raised in Prince George's County, Maryland and was exposed to rap music at a very young age. Her father was also a rapper and she quickly picked up the same nuances of rapping from him. She grew up listening to artists like Bob Marley, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Nas, and Jill Scott. 　　At age eleven, she and her mother moved to the Palmer Park area of Maryland. When she was in the sixth grade, Kelly's parents enrolled her in a Baltimore boarding school. That same year, her parents divorced. Kelly was expelled from the boarding school after she and another student were caught with marijuana. She then attended public school and began making music. 　　Career 　　Kelly started rapping in high school, and released her first mixtape, Summer's Eve, when she was in eleventh grade. After graduating from high school, she started focusing on her music career and released two mixtapes in 2016: The Rico Story and Sugar Trap. Both tapes gained her notable attention from the media and the general public. Kelly also released the single "Hey Arnold," which was later remixed featuring Atlanta rapper Lil Yachty. 　　In June 2017, Kelly released her single "Poppin'" which quickly garnered over 5 million views on YouTube. The single was also featured on the HBO hit show Insecure. Kelly's 5th mixtape Sugar Trap 2 featured the single as well as Kelly’s other popular single "Key Lime OG". Rolling Stone listed Sugar Trap 2 as one of 2017's best Rap Albums. 　　In June 2018, Kelly signed to Atlantic Records and released her fourth mixtape, Nasty. 　　In December 2018, she released a track titled "Guap (LaLaLa)" and in January 2019 she released "Roof". 　　In February 2019, Rico’s single "Sandy" as well as the documentary "Countin' Up" were released. 　　In April 2019, Rico and producer Kenny Beats released a mixtape called "Anger Management"