This is the first edition of my new column “Next Up”, where I will spotlight new releases by upcoming rappers so you’re in the know on the newest talents.
Nino Paid is undeniable. He’s the kind of no-nonsense, powerhouse combination of pure rapping ability and unabashed authenticity that, even in an industry far from a meritocracy, seems bound to rise above his contemporaries. On one of his newest tracks, “Bad Day,” he raps, “This rap sh*t is easy.” For him, it is. It all seems to come naturally for Nino. His new album Love Me As I Am—a follow up to his 2024 debut mixtape Can’t Go Bacc—is an often-astounding sophomore effort by the Washington D.C. native.
At 23 years old, Paid (real name Jacquan Andrews) has lived a life that would break most. In an interview back in August, he told Pitchfork music magazine, “The music is really an outlet for me. I’ve been in and out of jail since I was 14. Jail teaches you to be antisocial; you learn you can’t open up to just anyone. It’s different when I’m rapping.” Before that, when he was only three or four years old, he and his three siblings were taken from their parents by child protective services. On last year’s breakout single “When We Were Young,” he describes being torn apart from one of his brothers who he has not seen since, suffering violent abuse in the foster care system, and bouts of homelessness. This led him to sleep in subway stations and abandoned homes. In the summer of 2023, he released his first single, “Pain and Possibilities.” Within months, he signed a record deal with Columbia.
Nino’s raps don’t come out as pieces of melodramatic, synthetic songwriting, but rather as genuine attempts at processing a tragic upbringing. Seldom does he lean into despair without a natural optimism buoying beside it, and it makes for some of the most textured and mature lyricism in the underground today. His latest album, Love Me As I Am, marks an impressive display of his skill-set, both on a textual and musical level.
The opening track, “Something To Live For,” puts the listener on immediate notice. It’s an impeccable tone-setter, as Nino raps a tour-de-force verse atop a nostalgic, rich medley of instrumentation. He follows through with another heavy hitter, “Tears in the Hotbox,” a melancholic guitar-laden track in which Nino blends his D.C. twang with a sound reminiscent of Atlanta’s Homixide Gang. A melodic guest feature by up-comer JRipey is a bona fide song stealer. Yet, Nino arguably excels most on the beats that are more stripped back, where pockets of air allow his bassy voice to play like an instrument of its own. For example on “Be Safe,” “Bad Day,” and “Try Me,” a mainstream-flirting collaboration with the “Million Dollar Baby” vocalist Tommy Richman.
“Joey Story” and “Play This At My Funeral” are some of the more heavy-handed cuts on the album, but they don’t feel on the nose. Nino is too earnest of a narrator. His sorrowful sounds are complemented by his biggest asset: versatility. Earworms like “Tyreek Hill” and “Coolin,” a collaboration with red-hot Twitch streamer and producer Plaqueboymax, keep his rotation palatable.
Ultimately, his inexperience shows in his struggle to go the distance of this album’s 36-minute duration. His styles can wear thin, but the highlights are abundant and often incredible. In the end, Love Me As I Am comes out as his most emotionally mature, sonically focused, and forward-thinking work to date. It feels like a stepping stone towards a mainstream breakthrough that is now inevitable.
