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Background
Noname, formerly Noname Gypsy, first came to the attention of the hip-hop community following her feature on Chance the Rapper's landmark tape Acid Rap. Her dreamy, subdued voice featured on the song Lost stood out on a project otherwise filled with bombastic performances from a series of highly charismatic features such as Childish Gambino or Action Bronson, all of whom who lyrically were matched or surpassed by Noname despite their higher profile at the time. Despite this, Noname's project "Telefone" was announced before any songs from Acid Rap had even been released, first being tweeted about in November of 2012, making the mixtape's title an inextricable part of her career from its beginnings.
It appears however, that the Telefone Noname was working in in 2012, which she claimed would be released in the summer of 2013 hot on the heels of the feature that bought her to prominence, was not the Telefone that would be released in 2016. It seems in fact that the tape went under many different iterations, with what few tracks from earlier versions of Telefone such as Paradise sounding more spacey and dramatic, similar more to her frequent collaborator Mick Jenkins style than her current one. Lacking most notably on Paradise specifically is her signature calm delivery, as Noname shouts her way over beats more wild than her own. The fact it sounds so different to the final product however is likely a reason for the tapes 4 year production process – in an interview with Vulture, Noname states that she "always had an idea of how she wanted the music to sound, but was never able to get that." The songs that perhaps belonged on earlier versions of Telefone have also now since been deleted from Noname's soundcloud, Noname herself admitting in a tweet from 2015 that she struggles sharing music. Whilst perhaps it is a shame to not officially be able to hear songs that are strong by their own merits, their lack of an inclusion on a tape as strong and notably as unique as Telefone turned out to be is perhaps a worthy trade.
Followers of the rapper of course, did not know about the journey being undertaken by Noname to bring us her first project, and frustration began to mount. Release dates of Summer 2013 and June of 2014 came and went without the projects release, and song releases started to dry up too. People began to only hear Noname on features, features which she occasionally used to address the delay, as she does on Mick Jenkin's Comfortable, rapping "Telefone never coming out, whats the hold-up?". Noname even joked on her twitter on more than one occasion that the project was cancelled. In January, however, Noname released the first single that would actually be on the project, All I Need. Not long after, she released a second song, Freedom (Interlude), and not two months after her second iconic verse on a Chance the Rapper mixtape on Finish Line/Drown, Noname finally gave a date for her long-awaited project – July 31st.
Review
Telefone's greatest strength, and what leaps out most upon an initial listen, is how strongly characterised the tape's sound is. Often times projects match the tone of what they're trying to lyrically convey, but to have a tone that is based so strongly in your own character and personality is more difficult, and I personally have not heard a musical project that represents the personality of the artist who created it through sound so well since Tyler the Creator's emergence so long ago now. Kiana Fitzgerald, interviewing Noname about Telefone at The Fader put it best - "Telefone sounds, front to back, just like you". Now this alone isn't necessarily indicative of a good project – to use an earlier example, Tyler the Creator's work, especially his early work, has always been divisive amongst critics and audiences. This is perhaps because when your music embodies your personality so much, having a personality that may rub others the wrong way could in turn cause your music to rub others the wrong way as well, but when ones personality is (or at least seems as if it is) as inviting as Noname's is, then this is not an issue. Noname presents herself as a warm, relaxed, and introspective figure, and this is wonderfully represented by gorgeous, comforting sounds through-out the tape. Gentle synths, xylophones and piano sounds pulled right out a Charlie Brown Christmas special make up the majority of this mixtape's melodic sound-scape, and finger snaps and hand claps so often replace traditional forms of percussion. An atmosphere is cultivated, an atmosphere that the tape is being performed spur of the moment for you in Noname's living room, a place she invited you personally. It makes one feel at ease, and sets the tone perfectly for the half-hour of what one is about to learn about Noname and her beliefs during her almost conversational raps.
Yesterday is the tape's first song and also one of the strongest on it entirely. Noname takes the opportunity to introduce herself both lyrically and musically – the song opens with a gorgeous synth line, almost a musical hug hello, being calming and reassuring, almost perhaps as a respite to the years of waiting followers of Noname undertook waiting for this project. It quickly transitions into the songs primary melody, Noname launching into her first verse on an official project, describing her motivation for music in the process – not for money, not for publicity on "magazine covers drenched in gold", but for thoughts of her family happy and other assorted little pleasantries she states "save her soul". She takes the rest of the verse to further introduce herself - "who am I? Gypsy rap." - and to further outline her philosophy with a series of phrases designed to concisely sum it up without explicitly having to spell it out, phrases such as "me hollow in my interviews", "only wear tennis shoes to clubs with tennis shoes, 'cus fuck they clubs", and ending with "I wish I was a kid again". These phrases emphasise her rebellion against labels and expectations, expectations found in clubs with dress codes, or expectations placed on her by interviewers, and ending it by reminiscing on a time when such expectations wouldn't have been placed on her, when it was okay to not conform and be yourself. This immediately brings us to the beautifully sung hook, in which Noname again talks of simpler times - "When the sun is going down, when the dark is out to stay, I picture your smile like it was yesterday." This hook, and indeed much of the second verse ("My granny almost sparrow I can see the wings") are a tribute to those she lost, and this is indicative of one of the most appealing things about Noname. Her subject matters are sad, but her instrumentals remain calming and upbeat, and to be so emotionally honest on a song which will be many's introduction to her was a brave but highly respectable move.
Listening to Yesterday, one of Noname's most unique aspects becomes quickly apparent – her unusual, off-beat, spoken word flow. Some people have in the past criticised Telefone for the continued use of this flow, but unless it simply isn't for you, I don't think its persistent use through the tape is a bad thing. For one, it's highly unique, and Noname getting the most out of it is understandable considering it's not heard from anyone besides her. In addition, the flow itself is somewhat versatile, its inherent infusion of melody allowing it to mutate along to the beat, speeding up and slowing down as it needs too, almost bouncing in time to the instrumentals, as she does on Yesterday, the two verses having different timings and paces.
Sunny Duet contains the tape's first credited feature, in the form of a wonderfully smooth hook and bridge from fellow Chicagoan theMind. Again, Noname evokes a wonderful sense of nostalgia through both the production (which sounds almost like it could be sampling the Rugrats theme song) and the lyrics, evoking imagery by naming off foods, music and moods evocative of her childhood – "miracle whip at funtown", "Janet Jackson and flashing lights", and "summertime delight". In spite of this, the relationship the lyrics describe seems to be one that was always doomed to fail – not only does Noname's suitor fail to call her, she states that he didn't even know her name. This provides an introduction to a recurring motif and theme through-out the tape: names, and what they represent. In this case both Noname and theMind look to the name, and addressing one with it, as the most basic mark of respect. Mind states that one can "hate me, shame me, and call me crazy", as long as they know his name. Noname in turns states that the greatest betrayal she felt from the man in her scenario is that "he said he knew my name", when of course he didn't. The first half of the tape as a whole seems to keep coming back to this theme of the importance of names. Using your debut mixtape to discuss a common theme has become something of a common trait amongst the upcoming Chicago rap community – Mick Jenkins discussing truths through the motif of water, Saba discussing the concept of "bucket lists", but its frequency I feel is a result of its effectiveness in creating a cohesive feel for your project. Again, it only enhances Telefone's lyrical and thematic resonance.
Diddy Bop has become something of Telefone's signature song, being the most played on Soundcloud and Spotify, as well as the one most frequently featured on compilation playlists organised by these companies. Despite this, I'd personally argue it's the tape's weakest song. This isn't to say its bad, but I wonder if its popularity comes from its relative lack of melancholy compared to other songs on the tape. It's not devoid of it, of course, but lyrically it certainly focuses on happier themes predominantly compared to the rest of the tape. The song is still good, I feel, but selfishly, perhaps, I feel Noname is at her strongest when she is tackling more sombre ideas. Diddy Bop retains the tape's wonderful, smooth, calming production, but bizarrely appears almost generic compared to songs such as Yesterday or Casket Pretty. Despite this, the verses from Noname and Raury (whose folk-rap style seems right at home with the naturalistic sounds of the tape) are formidable.
All I Need I also feel is perhaps one of the tape's weaker songs, although again this is perhaps just a result of its more upbeat tone compared to other tracks on the tape. It expands on the "little things needed to save my soul" mentioned in Yesterday, stating she's moved away from material or temporary highs as mariajuana ("Noname off the drugs, Noname quit the weed"), and as the first single did a great job foreshadowing further the sound of Telefone. Again, however, Noname is at her best when her chipper instrumentals are combined with darker, sadder thoughts with a rough air of melancholy around them. This all said – the adlib at the beginning of the track, Noname chiming in with a "do do do" to the songs beat, is one of my favourite small moments packed into the type. These small moments are scattered across Telefone, both from the vocalists and other small sound effects layered on top of the instrumental to expand and add texture to the tape's sound scape. For example, touches of choirs and piano sweeps across the tape's fifth song, Reality Check, a track aimed to motivate the listener and presumably Noname herself. She talks about her situation prior to her come up, rapping "I could stay here forever, I could die here", referring to a world where she "dreams in technicolour but live in black and white". Considering I've criticised both Diddy Bop and All I Need for their primarily up-beat tones, one might think that Reality Check would have a similar pitfall. But by including and talking about the adversity she had to become to achieve a dream and create Telefone, Noname enriches her own story, acknowledging the bad that had to come before the good created by her come up. It serves almost as well as a celebration of the tape's up-beat musicality and her success in creating it before moving onto songs with darker tones in the second half of the tape.
Freedom (Interlude) is my own personal favourite song on the tape. It serves as a bridge between the lighter tones of the prior few songs and the songs on the latter half which all share their own common theme – death. Freedom Interlude is a song in which Noname discusses several different topics, making it clear herself she barely seems to know what its about herself, rapping "I think I wrote a song about confusion and perception", "I think I wrote a song about overcoming", a motif she keeps repeating through-out. What this ultimately makes clear, however, is that the song is about uncertainty. Uncertainty in relationships, as she describes in the first verse of the song, a relationship in which she can't say for sure where her "plus one" is at. Uncertainty in her future, as she discusses in the second verse whether she will live a traditional life and have a child, and uncertainty as to how good a mother she would be. She concludes her verses by openly admitting she's run out of rhymes, and repeating "dance with me", embracing her uncertainty as to what the song is about. She is unsure about anything, but by accepting that and dancing to that, she acknowledges the beauty of it, as she "knows she's free". She peters out and allows the songs beautiful, ascending instrumental to play by itself, as a freeform synth solo plays overtop, dancing itself to the sounds of hand-claps and tambourine hit. The whole song is at one with its own concept, the concept of finding freedom in not knowing. This marks a wonderful transition into all the songs which discuss death following it, bringing an air of sweetness to what is the ultimate form of not knowing – the unsureness of what happens after death.
Casket Pretty has become one of the most discussed songs from Telefone, and with good reason. It discusses some very heavy, and very relevant subject matter – police brutality and African-American homicide rates, particularly in Chicago. The song is poignant in almost every aspect of its sound, content and delivery. The warm sounds listeners at this point will be accustomed too are still here, but are distorted, unfamiliar, almost even grating, playing off-time and out of tune. This quickly sets the tone that something is deeply wrong, and hearing Noname's normally friendly voice seem so dejected and subdued furthers this feeling. Songs about the sorry state of the police's relations with African-Americans are far from new to hip-hop, but what sets Casket Pretty apart is that it attacks the concept from a new emotional space. Not from anger, not even entirely from sadness, but from fear. Noname acknowledges first and foremost that she is afraid – "of the dark, of the blue and the white". She feels she has to "pray that her tele don't ring". It admits a complete vulnerability and helplessness that has so far not been present in musical discussions on the topic. There is nothing pleasant, or empowering, or cool about the topics presented. It's difficult to hear, but is highly sobering and I feel helps bring to light another feeling easily ignored or forgotten by those of us who luckily are privileged enough to not be as affected by these issues as others.
Forever, by contrast, seeks to celebrate individuals affected or potentially affected by such thing's legacy. The hook states it clearly "they ain't tryna see me shine, bullet on my time, but fuck it I'll live forever". Noname believes (rightfully) that she and others like her's legacy will persist or outshine hatred and violence sent her way on account of her own strengths. This is another song on which the production is outstanding. Instrumentally it sounds as if it could be sampling a ringtone, evoking the mixtape's title well. The song's low-end is withheld until the hook starts, but its almost bouncy sound deepens the sound tremendously, the instrumental being one of the richest on the tape for this reason. The hook itself is performed by Noname and Ravyn Lanae, whose dreamy voice fits both the playful beat and the philosophical nature of the lyrics.
Bye Bye Baby is not only a wonderfully moving and emotive song, but an important one as well. The song images a conversation between a prospective mother and the unborn child she just had aborted. Such subject matter when taken on by other artists could easily appear in bad taste, but Noname navigates the subject delicately, empathetic to both parties involved in the decision. She acknowledges that neither subject particularly wants to have had to go through what they did, but must, as "some get presents before they even ready", to ensure a better world for them both. The song's outro is full of lines which highlight both the good and the bad of the situation - "I'm gonna fall in love again, on a lonely road where happiness needs us". The hypothetical would-be mother lives, at current, in a tragic, lonely world, where she must part with things she loves for both their sake, but remains optimistic for the future, that her act, difficult though it may be ("Oh you know I hate goodbyes") will bring her and her future child more joy. The songs most poignant moment, however, is not bought by any lyric, but by the instrumental. The song's looped, underscored by baby noises, starts to stutter, and it becomes apparent that this means that the moment that the mother, child and audience know had to come. But rather than cutting out quickly, the beat fades steadily from its soft synths and xylophones to an orchestral noise playing the same melody that drove the rest of the song. It lasts only for a couple of seconds, but this brief moment lets us know all we need too: the child, though gone, has reached a better place, and the Mother, though heart-broken, will one day arrive at one too. In 2016, debates over the ethics of abortion raged across the world. In the midst of this, people have turned to statistics and data to back-up their arguments, and whilst this is in itself fine, many have forgotten that the subject they are talking about is not necessarily a cold, sterile one without effect, but is a very human scenario affecting many across the planet. Bye Bye Baby serves as a reminder of this. It's an act that regardless of the reasons for taking, can not always be as emotionally clear-cut as people on both sides of the debate would like to make out. For this sobering reason, I find the song to be one of the most important in terms of its content of the year. I encourage anyone, regardless of where they stand on the issue, to listen to Bye Bye Baby to remind themselves of this.
Telefone's final song, Shadow Man, is the culmination of the writings about death that had appeared thus far in the tape. Alongside Noname, two other rappers, Saba and Smino, contribute verses to the song, and all of them discuss their mortality and how they want to be memorialised – through celebration. They state they want their funerals to be like a party (Smino specifically states he wants beats by acclaimed producer Metro Boomin to play at his), a celebration of their life. They all show an acceptance of their inevitable fates, Saba for example saying "funeral home looking like a home I used to live in", suggesting he's already comfortable with death, as comfortable as he'd be in one of his old homes. They repeat "bless the nightingale", the personification of death and departed spirits, welcoming it as opposed to shunning it. In it's own way the song itself serves as a funeral for it's three artists, but for the tape itself. Noname stated on twitter that the song represented the funeral for the "gypsy" part of her name, and Telefone closed the chapter on the part of her life she used it. Her debut project is now at its end, as is the long wait undertaken by both her and her followers for it. Shadow Man marks the end of everything up to this point, and the start of a new Noname. The song ends with a long instrumental breakdown, seemingly every instrument used on this song and ones before it making an appearance, as if the tape itself is making its final, long goodbye to you. It's pleasant spending a last few moments with the tape and its beautiful sounds and ideas, but all good things must come to and end, and that is okay.
Writing this review I found myself pretty intimidated. Not because I had a lot to write, or not because I didn't love the tape, but because Noname's lyricism is so intricate and smart that I was horrified that only talking about a few specific parts of each song would do it a disservice. If you've not heard the tape I implore you to do so, and if you have, I also suggest you re-listen with the lyrics by your side. Noname has said herself that art is free to be both interpreted and misinterpreted, and Telefone follows that philosophy to a tee, a complex collection of thoughts, sometimes not even coherently strung together, that we as an audience must draw our own conclusions from.
Being a female artist in a genre dominated by men, people are quick to label Noname the "new x" or the "female y", but to do this in my opinion is to do a disservice to one of the most unique artists the genre has ever bought out. Nobody in rap sounds like or presents ideas like Noname is, and I think in fact it is her femininity which allows her to do this. Femininity in rap has been explored by other female artists like Nicki Minaj or Missy Elliot (not to take away from them they are fantastic and important artists themselves in many ways) often times wield the sexual aspect of their femininity above all others, much as many male artists focus themselves on their sexuality do as well. But femininity has become typically associated with many more things like that – with comfort, with reassurance. Noname weilds this aspect above all else. She's said she wanted Telefone to sound like a first uneasy conversation with a new crush, and she captures this vibe wonderfully. It's scattered, its at times nervous and unsure, but it always feels safe. If not a crush, then a good friend or even sister. Noname has tapped into an aspect of life that very few artists in rap are, and this is why she deserves to be listened to, and this is why Telefone deserves to be considered an album of the year.
Favourite Lyrics
Fill the lining in the pine box, my granny fill the time slot. "Don't grow up too soon. Don't blow the candles out. Don't let them cops get you".
Yesterday
And I know this world is so damn crazy but that don't mean a thing. It can forgive me, shame me, call me crazy - as long as you know my name.
Sunny Duet
What a pretty lady in the valley of the shadows, I'm thinkin she lost a battle I'm thinkin she found the bottle.
Freedom (Interlude)
Too many babies in suits. Too many babies in suits.
Casket Pretty
I'm trying to re-imagine abracadabra for poverty, like poof I made it dissappear, proof I'm made of happiness.
Forever
Bye bye blue, somebody let the yellow in. Bye bye blue, I'm gonna fall in love again on a lonely road where happiness needs us.
Bye Bye Baby
When I die there's 27 rappers at my funeral. Moses wrote my name in stone and Kanye did the eulogy.
Shadow Man
Discussion Points
Is there a place in the mainstream for an artist like Noname?
Does the tape suffer for a lack of any features from Noname's frequent collaborators Mick Jenkins or Chance the Rapper?
Would it be fair to suggest Noname's music stands out more, or perhaps can be considered better, for its coming from a female artist in a male dominated genre?
Does the tape's at times hyper-cohesive sound damage its enjoyability? Are the songs different enough in their sound to be set apart from eachother?
Which half of the tape do you personally feel is stronger, the first or the second? Why?
Thank you for reading this write-up, please let me know in general how you enjoyed both Telefone, my discussion of it, what I could do to improve. Have a good day!
