Nino Paid keeps his head low. Like the music that’s made him one of rap’s most essential new artists, the 22-year-old carries himself with an air of humble self-possession, aware when all eyes are on him while refusing to play a role. He doesn’t fill the space with empty chatter and doesn’t need to; when he does speak, his words carry weight. One gets a sense of his deep-seated independence from his latest project, Love Me As I Am, an 18-track LP of somber lyricism spoken plainly against a gentler take on DMV crank, a rap subgenre localized to the D.C. area and defined by its aggressive drum beats. On “Pain & Possibilities 2,” he calls out those who’ve betrayed him (“You been through bullshit, I been through hell too”) and threatened his life (“Niggas tryna kill me, better empty the clip”), framed with a familiar feeling: “I’m tired of goin’ through pain.” Read our GEN F profile on ninopaid at the link in bio. ✍️ Kaila Philo 📸 kynakool #GENF #NinoPaid