Album Review: Telefone (Noname)
I first heard Chicago-born Noname on Chance the Rapper's 2013 mixtape Acid Rap, and like many I was struck by her voice, her confidence, her flow and the unbridled rawness of her lyrics. Critics and music fans began screaming for an independent release, but I think it is to her credit that Noname took her time to release this, her first album, in 2016.
The opening bars have Noname instantly at her best and with all the qualities that make her such a standout rapper: she plays with the beat, hovering around it but ultimately floating above it, while her cracked voice has a girlish charm and a pained cry all at once. She could be singing at times, but the delivery is spot on and the words are clear, always sitting nicely on top of what is often a live band.
Lyrically, she touches on themes that have become more and more common in contemporary rap lyrics. Noname wrestles with fame and money, finding it hollow without the influence of family and friends. She checks her "Twitter page for something holier than black death", at once asserting and lamenting her place as an African American woman in a city that has a horrendous record when it comes to the police shooting people of colour. Noname features a wide variety of local artists on her record, her friends, but eschews the big-name features that she could have pulled in, opting instead for a community vibe on her record.
The production has a really interesting child-like quality (that works well with Noname's voice), with doo wop and toy piano sounds aplenty amongst the gospel grounding that has come into full force this year with records like Kanye West's The Life of Pablo and Chance the Rapper's Coloring Book. The harmony would be equally at home in a jazz or church context, and there is a light and airiness about the sounds that belies the seriousness of the themes.
I really enjoyed putting this album on from the first playing, and I think as I dig more into the lyrics the joy will only grow for me. I thoroughly recommend that you check this album out. You can buy it on bandcamp and name your price there.