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Artwork by Nikko Washington
A poetic soul beats within Noname. Long considered one of Chicago’s finest young talents, she stole the spotlight time and time again with scene-stealing verses alongside the likes of Chance The Rapper, Mick Jenkins, and others.
Yesterday, her debut project—originally slated to release two years ago—finally debuted to much fanfare. Telefone is here, and it doesn’t disappoint. Noname startles with her pen and unsettles with her voice, delivering spear-sharp bars through a deceptively soft tone. She’s wide-eyed yet her attentive gaze spares no detail. The rare combination might call to mind some of Acid Rap‘s most emotional moments.
“All of my n****s is casket pretty / ain’t no one safe in this happy city,” she raps on the short but gripping seventh song. The full-length’s layered production (led by Cam O’bi, Pheolix, and Saba) and L10’s warm engineering only add to her disorienting vocals. Flowery samples, music box chatter, and chuckling babies soundtrack morbid thoughts.
Immerse yourself in Telefone below—trust it’s well worth the time. Expect Noname to make significant noise in the near-future and beyond.
Related: Engineer Elton Chueng Talks Working on Chance the Rapper’s Acid Rap and Coloring Book
Here’s the tracklist for Telefone, complete with full credits courtesy of Noname.
1. “Yesterday”
(Prod: Cam O’bi, Phoelix, Saba)
(Additional vocals: Phoelix, Akenya, theMIND)
2. “Sunny Duet” ft. theMIND
(Prod. Cam O’bi, Monte Booker)
3. “Diddy Bop” ft. Raury, Cam O’bi
(Prod. Phoelix, Cam O’bi)
(Additional vocals: Phoelix)
4. “All I Need” ft. Xavier O’mar
(Prod. Saba, THEMpeople, Phoelix)
5. “Reality Check” ft. Eryn Allen Kane and Akenya
(Prod. Cam O’bi)
(Additional production: Phoelix)
6. “Freedom Interlude”
(Prod. Saba, Phoelix)
7. “Casket Pretty”
(Prod. Saba, Phoelix)
8. “Forever” ft. Ravyn Lenae and Joseph Chilliams
(Prod. Saba, Phoelix)
9. “Bye Bye Baby”
(Prod. Cam O’bi, Phoelix)
10. “Shadow Man” ft. Saba, Smino, and Phoelix
(Prod. Cam O’bi)
(Additional production. Phoelix)
(Live drums, Ralph Gene)
(Additional lyrics, theMIND)
(Additional vocals, theMIND, Cam O’bi)
Executive Produced by Cam O’bi & Phoelix
Artwork by Nikko Washington
Mixed & Mastered by Elton “L10MixedIt” Chueng
Akenya Engineered by Ron Spraggins on Reality Check
Eryn Allen Kane Engineered by Cameron Boswell on Reality Check
Noname Recorded by Nick Breton on Reality Check
