Anger Management is a collaborative
mixtape[2][3][4] between American musicians
Rico Nasty and
Kenny Beats. It was released independently on April 25, 2019 through Rico Nasty's label Sugar Trap as a
surprise release. Featured artists on the record include
Baauer, Splurge, and
EarthGang.
Background and release
Rico Nasty and Kenny Beats recorded the entire project within a five day session in early 2019.[3][5] On March 24, 2019, Rico Nasty announced the project on
Instagram live and noted that it will "probably come out in April [2019]." On why she kept the project a secret from her fans, Rico said: "I want you guys to really enjoy it and I want you guys to let me enjoy creating it and not be rushing to finish."[6] She announced its imminent release on April 24, 2020 and released the promotional single, "Big Titties".[7] Anger Management was officially released on April 25, 2019.[8][9][10]
Cover artwork
The mixtape's cover art was created by
Keith Rankin, and was inspired by the cover of the 1991 psychology book, The New Primal Scream, by
Arthur Janov. Dom Glover, the creative director of the project, originally approached Rankin with this cover as inspiration. Rankin told The Fader, "As soon as I saw that idea I had a pretty clear image of what it should be, just a straight up view of Rico’s face with the gradient background." The cover art was created using the pen and airbrush tools on
Photoshop.[11][12]
Creating the project was therapeutic because I got to exude my emotions in any way that I wanted. I feel like a lot of times when people focus on anger, they forget about what it takes to get you there. I don't know too many people that go zero to 100 as fast as I do when I get mad about something. So, finally making a project that shows that, it just made me way more aware of the process in which people piss you off. It's kind of like a cycle. It's up to you to break that shit. It's up to you to stop allowing people to piss you off, because it happens every day.
Anger Management received positive acclaim from
music critics. At
Metacritic, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the mixtape received an
average score of 79, based on 4 reviews.[20] Album of the Year collected 6 reviews and calculated an average of 74 out of 100.[24]
Kyann-Sian Williams of NME described the mixtape as a "bracing, addictive record" which "takes the listener on a journey through anger to acceptance, finally arriving at a sense of calm. It's a great concept, and a great album."[22] Lakin Starling of Pitchfork described the record as "a hell of a rap-production slapper, but most of all it's a turning point in Rico's evolution," noting that "[Rico] remains one of the heaviest hitters in the no-rules arena of rap."[23] Nathan Ma of Highsnobiety wrote "At its heart, Anger Management is an overwhelmingly visceral, engaging, and consuming project," and concluded that "Rico Nasty is, among other things, a professional."[21] Danny Schwart of Rolling Stone praised the collaborative efforts of the project and the energy between the duo, writing, "This overpowering 18-minute release reveals Rico and Kenny to be the most high-voltage rapper-producer combo around. [...] the progression they've achieved on Anger Management, indicate that Rico and Kenny will probably be career-long collaborators. Rico is only 21 and her future is incredibly bright — especially with Kenny at her side to help her realize her potential."[5]
In a slightly more negative review, Daniel Spielberg of HipHopDX noted that "Instead of replicating last year's [
Nasty], [Rico Nasty] is clearly set on experimenting and expanding her sound. Even though it shows that she's a risk taker, Anger Management is unfortunately half-baked."[15]
Accolades
Anger Managagement appeared on multiple critic's lists.
^Jonathan Bernstein; Jon Blistein; Jon Dolan; Patrick Doyle; Brenna Ehrlich; Suzy Exposito; Jon Freeman; David Fricke; Kory Grow; Will Hermes; Christian Hoard; Charles Holmes; Joseph Hudak; Brendan Klinkenberg; Elias Leight; Angie Martoccio; Claire Shaffer; Rob Sheffield; Hank Shteamer; Brittany Spanos; Simon Vozick-Levinson (December 5, 2019).
"The 50 Best Albums of 2019". Rolling Stone.
ISSN0035-791X.
Archived from the original on December 6, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
^Brittany Spanos; David Fricke; Will Hermes; Suzy Exposito; Christian Hoard; Danny Schwartz; Elias Leight; Rob Sheffield; Joe Levy; Sarah Grant; Daniela Tijerina; Jonathan Bernstein; Angie Martoccio; Hank Shteamer; Jon Dolan; Kory Grow (June 21, 2019).
"The 50 Best Albums of 2019 So Far". Rolling Stone.
ISSN0035-791X.
Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
^"ACE Repertory".
ASCAP. Select "TITLE", type "Song" in the search engine, and click "Search".
Archived from the original on September 11, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2020.