Since Noname (previously Noname Gypsy) announced her debut project back in 2012, that record has certainly been a long time coming, but at last we can finally check this one off our list (we’re looking at you Frank) with today’s release of Telefone.
You may know Noname from her features with fellow Windy City heavyweight Chance The Rapper, getting her big break from her feature on his hugely successful Acid Rap tape, not to mention her additions to his latest, Coloring Book.
Or perhaps it was Mick Jenkins’ tune Comfortable, Donnie Trumpet‘s Warm Enough, Kirk Knight‘s collaboration Dead Friends, or maybe you just stumbled upon her vast collection of random cuts, including tracks like Mary Jane Love or the Knxwledge produced You And I which surfaced over the years.
Either way, with her vast catalogue, Noname has managed to solidify herself as one of the most promising up-and-coming emcees without a record to her name, and the wait for her solo project was on and full of anticipation.
Fans were ecstatic when the MC announced the release date of her mixtape just a fortnight ago, and with the 10-track-deep album finally released, the three year wait has been forgiven completely. Holding nothing back, the Chicago rapper enlists the help of theMIND, Raury, Eryn Allen Kane, Saba and so many more, who go on to contribute some seriously moving vocal performances in joining Noname to shape one of the strongest tapes of the year.
With its classic Chicago vibe, Telefone is feel good in the best of ways. Alongside Noname’s loose, laidback flow, her melodic, poignant tone, and her prodigious focus on lyricism and conscious wordplay, instrumentally we are also blessed with an array of the jazzy, neo-soul inspired beats which will have you grooving in no time. It’s exactly what we wanted, and Noname has delivered and then some.
Take a listen to Noname’s debut mixtape below and let us know what you think!
Image: Facebook – Noname