Tag: Noname

Noname – “Sundial” review

We finally have the sophomore full-length album from Chicago, Illinois emcee, poet & producer Noname in our hands. Emerging as 1/3 of Ghetto Sage, she gained national exposure the summer of 2016 off her debut mixtape Telefone took it to another level couple years later on the debut LP Room 25. But after going on to drop some loosie singles & occasional feature performances since then, Noname’s finally looking to join Little Simz amongst others too in the ranks of shutting up everyone claiming that women in hip hop are one of the biggest if not THE biggest problem with the culture today by returning with Sundial.

“black mirror” is a calmingly smooth opener to the album calling herself a black author
Librarian, contrarian & MC whereas “hold me down” goes into spacious boom bap territory talking about kicking out on your for a favor for a certain amount. “balloons” featuring a repulsively antisemitic Jay Electronica speaks on metophorically crying the titular object over a slick backdrop with kicks & snares produced by SABA, but then “boomboom“ goes full-blown jazz rap talking about making a wish.

Meanwhile, “potentially the interlude” charismatically points out that “people said they love but they really love potential with a crescendoing beat that gets more layered as it goes on just before “namesake” blends these synthseziers & jazzy drum patterns explaining that she never needed a man. “beauty supply” tranquilly encourages you to take a trip with here to exactly that leading into “toxic” calling out a man who thrives off toxicity over a mellow boom bap instrumental.

The song “afro futurism” hooks up these pianos with kicks & snares showing her appreciation for the movement while the penultimate track “gospel?” featuring billy woods, $ilkMoney & Stout fuses gospel & boom bap promising the sun will shine. “oblivion” featuring Common is a perfect choice of a closer that comes in the form of a funky hip hop ballad talking their shit without giving a fuck.

Like I said: People love to complain about women in our culture severely lacking musically this day in age but artists like Noname, Simz like I mentioned earlier, Sa-Roc who’s gearing up to drop her Rhymesayers sophomore effort & Che Noir currently prepping Lotus Child further prove otherwise. The jazzy/neo-soul production is exuberantly pleasant to the ear & her conscious lyrics remain profound as they were when she first broke out.

Score: 4/5

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Noname – “Room 25” review

Noname is a 26 year old rapper & poet from Chicago, Illinois who broke out onto the scene with her amazing 1st mixtape Telefone. She’s been laying low ever since but just a couple days before her 27th birthday, she is finally following it up with her full-length debut.

Things open with “Self”, where Noname is talking about the people who doubted her over a mellow beat from Phoelix (who produces the entire album by himself). The next track “Blaxpoitation” talks about the stereotypes of African Americans over a funky beat while the “Prayer Song” intellectually breaks down the common issues in America over a spacey instrumental. The track “Window” vents about how nobody knows the real her over an orchestral instrumental with a vibraphone in the back while the song “Don’t Forget About Me” is of course about how she wants to be remembered over an instrumental kin to J Dilla.

The track “Regal” sees Noname getting spiritual over an instrumental with a beautiful atmosphere to it while the song “Montego Bay” with Ravyn Lenae is a love tune with some prominently jazzy piano chords. The track “Ace” by Ghetto Sage sees the trio talking about life on the road over some beautiful background vocals while the song “Part of Me” vents about Noname not pretending to be herself over an acoustic guitar & live drumming. The penultimate track “With You” poetically talks about a failed relationship over a prominent psychedelic guitar while the closer “No Name” talks about nonexistence over a bare piano.

Overall, this might be better than Telefone. There are couple features I were indifferent towards but outside of that, Noname’s lyricism is just as thoughtful as is the jazzy neo-soul based production. Also, Noname’s calm & relaxing flow continues to enhance the vibe of each track for the better.

Score: 4/5