Ashnikko

Early life

Ashton Nicole Casey was born on February 19, 1996, in Oak Ridge, North Carolina, and raised in Greensboro. Their parents exposed them to country music and Slipknot.

At age 10, they became interested in rap after hearing M.I.A.'s Arular, and did not listen to male musicians until 16. As a teenager, the family moved to Estonia for their father's studies, then to Riga, Latvia, where Casey was the only American in a Latvian public high school. At 18, they moved to London alone.

Career

Ashnikko's first song, "Krokodil", produced by Raf Riley, was published to SoundCloud in July 2016. Their debut EP Sass Pancakes (2017) on Digital Picnic Records was also produced by Raf Riley and featured Avelino. The second EP, Unlikeable (2018), included singles "Blow", "Nice Girl", "Invitation" featuring Kodie Shane, and "No Brainer". The third EP, Hi It's Me (2019), was preceded by "Special" and the title track; its second single "Stupid" featuring Yung Baby Tate went viral on TikTok, reached number one on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 and Spotify Viral 50 charts, and earned gold certifications in the US and Canada.

Another EP track, "Working Bitch", also gained TikTok popularity. In October 2019, Ashnikko toured North America supporting Danny Brown, released the promotional single "Halloweenie II: Pumpkin Spice", and co-wrote eight songs on Brooke Candy's debut album Sexorcism.

Artistry

Ashnikko makes alt-pop and electropop, calling their sound a mix of angry punk, hip hop, sad-girl-feminist, bubblegum, and poo-poo music, and they stress it is not meant as comedy or parody. Their look features Tokyo-inspired street fashion and bright blue hair, though their natural color is brown; it has also been pastel green, yellow, pink, and red in different videos. Musical influences include M.I.A., Gwen Stefani, Lil' Kim, Björk, Paramore, Avril Lavigne, Nicki Minaj, Missy Elliott, Dolly Parton, Janis Joplin, King Woman, and Joan Jett, with "Bossy" by Kelis as their favorite song. They name Doja Cat, Grimes, Tierra Whack, Rico Nasty, Hayley Williams, Princess Nokia, Kim Petras, and Charli XCX as peers they deeply respect.

Personal life

In June 2019, Ashnikko identified as bisexual on Twitter, then clarified in a 2020 interview that they are pansexual. In May 2021, they came out as genderfluid on Twitter, stating they had not felt ready to tell the internet earlier.

While their family practices Christianity, Ashnikko said in July 2020 that they do not. They dated fellow singer Arlo Parks from December 2021 until their 2024 split, which Ashnikko referenced while performing the new song "Itty Bitty" opening for Billie Eilish in December 2024. Ashnikko describes themself as a feminist, attributing discovery of intersectional feminism to Tumblr as a teenager, and has spoken out about the commercialization of feminism and police brutality.