Today, Atlanta rap mystic Bktherula ascends to the astral plane with the release of her meditative new mixtape Nirvana on Warner Records.
Executively produced by Digital Nas, Nirvana finds the 18-year-old talking smack and dripping poetry over abstract soundscapes. The dreamy set cements Bktherula as one of today’s most exciting young talents�a modern ATLien who can float to the heavens and open up a mosh pit, all with the power of her voice.
Bktherula is best known for wavy, genre-melding anthems like “Tweakin’ Together,” and here she continues to perfect that sound while broadening her range. Last week, she released the multi-dimensional instant gratis track “okok/depressing.” “Ill” feels unmoored like a spaceship full of synths, while harder cuts like the glitchy “MORE” finds Bktherula spinning out into a half dozen different flows.
“MIND FUCK” is a cavernous banger that could’ve come out of early-decade Chicago drill, and then there are off-kilter, gorgeous songs like “light” and “GANGO” that draw from alt-rock and hyperpop. It’s a bright, eclectic canvas for Bktherula.
At the center of it all is that distinctively airy but heavy voice, which has catapulted Bktherula into the spotlight in just under a year. But give credit to her work ethic, too. During the pandemic, Bk dropped the fever dream of a video for “Summer” and performed at Move Forward Fest 2020 alongside Guapdad 4000, Kari Faux, and more.
Earlier this year, she produced and performed for hundreds of feverish fans at her inaugural RULAFEST in Atlanta. And just eight months ago, she shared her kaleidoscopic mixtape Love Santana, which featured celebrated cuts like “Tweakin’ Together” and “On Me.”
That independent project earned over a million streams and plenty of attention, including from Pitchfork, who called “On Me” “the best of the bunch, with flashy production that would make Pi’erre proud.” The future is promising for Bktherula.
NIRVANA TRACKLIST: