Ashnikko

Ashnikko, born Ashton Nicole Casey in 1996 in Oak Ridge, North Carolina, and raised in Greensboro, developed an early fascination with rap at age 11 through repeated listens to M.I.A. After spending part of her teenage years in Estonia and Latvia, she started producing her own tracks under the sway of Nicki Minaj and Björk. Her first digital EP, Sass Pancakes, produced by Raf Riley, surfaced in 2017 and contained the cut “Krokodil,” while the follow-up Unlikeable arrived the next year and spotlighted “No Brainer.”

The five-song EP Hi It’s Me appeared in 2019 and introduced the collaboration “Stupid” with Yung Baby Tate. Both the track and its video quickly spread across multiple platforms, propelling the song to the top of the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 and Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop charts. That year also brought a tour alongside Danny Brown. Early 2020 saw the release of “Cry,” a joint effort with Grimes that served as an early indicator of the mixtape Demidevil, which landed in January 2021. The project included a Princess Nokia feature, a composition built on a Kelis sample, and a fresh take on Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8er Boi,” ultimately reaching the U.K. Top 20.

To herald the 2023 debut album Weedkiller, Ashnikko issued the singles “You Make Me Sick!” and “Worms.” The full-length, which arrived that June, incorporated production from Dylan Brady of 100 gecs along with guest vocals by Ethel Cain.