This album was released on September 14th this year. I honestly had no idea this project was coming. For some reason I thought we weren’t getting anymore music from Noname after 2016’s Telefone project. I thought she said something about quitting rap. I’m glad that didn’t happen though. I haven’t heard any singles from this project, so I’m going into it completely blind. I’m hoping it’s just as good if not better than Telefone. I think all the songs are produced by Phoelix. I might be wrong though. I don’t know.

Tracklist

1. Self
2. Blaxploitation
3. Prayer Song featuring Adam Ness
4. Window featuring Phoelix
5. Don’t Forget About Me
6. Regal
7. Montego Bay featuring Ravyn Lenae
8. Ace featuring Smino & Saba
9. Part of Me featuring Phoelix & Benjamin Earl Turner
10. With You
11. no name featuring Yaw & Adam Ness

The beat on the opening song is really soft & pretty, much like the production on Telefone. Noname’s flow is smooth like butter on this track. It’s a pretty short song, and it just consists of two verses. It’s got a really simplistic structure, but I think it’s a dope song. I have no  problems with it. It transitions pretty nicely into Blaxploitation. It has a funkier beat than anything I’ve heard Noname rap on before. Her flow on the first verse is fucking awesome; she killed that shit. I like how there are audio clips from blaxploitation films between the two verses. The second verse was great. It’s another short song with a simplistic structure. I think it’s better than the first song though. It’s dope af. I really love the jazzy production on Prayer Song. Once again, Noname’s flow is smooth as hell. I feel like her cadence has really improved a lot. Adam Ness did his thing on the hook. His vocals are really smooth. He kinda sounds like a girl to be honest. The second verse is rapped from the perspective of a corrupt police officer. There are references to the shooting of Philando Castile. It’s a really good verse. It’s been done before, but she did a pretty good job. I fuck with the song. It’s dope. The production on Window is absolutely gorgeous. It sounds like a movie score. I love how she raps with no percussion during the first verse. Phoelix did a good job with the hook. The second verse is really great. She’s rapping to some guy that she fell for who fucked her and then dipped. It’s kinda sad. The song is dope af. I have no problems with it. The strings on Don’t Forget About Me sound really good. Just like with the previous track, the production is top notch. It’s a really soft, smooth beat. Noname’s flow is a bit slower paced than it was on the first few songs. The song’s about wanting to be remembered after death. It’s pretty good. I don’t like it as much as the song it follows, but it’s still dope. I fuck with it. The beat on Regal is really pretty. Honestly, it’s one of the best beats on the album. I love the snaps that come in as soon as the verse starts. The hook’s nothing special. The production is fucking phenomenal though. The beat alone makes it one of the best songs on the album so far. It’s a short song. There’s only one verse, and it’s pretty short. I think one more verse would’ve made the song a little better, but it’s dope enough as it is. I fuck with it. The production on Montego Bay is a little more upbeat. The hook from Ravyn is alright, and she sang her ass off on the first verse. She’s got a really high pitched, soft voice. Her voice is even softer than that of Noname. The final verse from Noname was awesome. Her flow was fucking great. It’s a good song, but it’s definitely not one of my favorites. I like it though. It’s dope. Ace is a great song. I wasn’t crazy about the first verse from Smino, but he did his thing on the hook. The second verse from Noname was pretty solid, but Saba definitely had the best verse in my opinion. His flow was incredible. He really stole the show. It’s a dope song. The vocals from Phoelix on Part of Me are stellar, and I love the guitar driven production. The first verse from Noname was pretty good. That Benjamin Earl Turner guy had a really good verse too. I’ve never heard of him, but he did his thing. Honestly, Part of Me is one of the best songs on the album. The hook from Phoelix is awesome, and the production is really great. It’s dope af. The pattern of percussion on the following song is kind of bizarre. The other instrumentation sounds pretty good though. The entire song is just one long verse. It’s a pretty solid track, but it’s definitely not one of my favorites. There’s not really much to discuss. It’s just a solid verse over a good beat. I fuck with it. The entire first minute and a half of the outro is a really pretty instrumental. It’s a great piano driven beat. There’s just one verse from Noname about dying. It’s really good. The vocals from Yaw & Adam Ness on the outro are fantastic. It’s a good closer for the album.

This album is great. The production is a little less soft than that of Telefone, but it’s still really jazzy and pretty. There’s not a single track on this album that I didn’t like at least a little bit. Honestly, there aren’t really any consistent flaws on this project. I think Noname’s flow has improved a lot since her last release. It’s hard to say which one is better. Honestly if I had to choose one over the other I’d probably go with Telefone, but this is still a really great album. It’s dope.

Favorite Song: Part of Me
Least Favorite Song: With You

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Watch the video below for more thoughts on this album.