Noname “Sundial” Album Review

Sundial

Noname

• Genre: Hip-Hop
• Date: 11 Aug, 2023
• Content: explicit
• Track(s): 11
• ℗ 2023 Noname, Inc under exclusive license to AWAL Recordings America, Inc.

“Sundial,” Noname’s second studio album, has finally been released. The 31-year-old rapper had originally planned to release ‘Factory Baby’ in 2019, but she canceled that project after remarking on social media at the time that she might give up music altogether. Thankfully, she didn’t make good on that threat, so we can now finally explore the universe of “Sundial.”

The new album, which spans 10 songs and clocks in at little over 30 minutes, is filled with strong themes and a bevy of guests, including cameos from Common, Jay Electronica, Eryn Allen Kane, Jimetta Rose, The Voices of Creation, Ayoni, $ilkMoney, and STOUT.

It can be difficult to follow the tremendous popularity of her earlier work with “Sundial,” as it refuses to take the simple path. The project, however, emerges as a unique piece of Black American craftsmanship after repeated listening.

Album Cover Art

For her new album, Noname pitched her tent with a sick oil painting of a middle-aged black woman who appears disgruntled, which is boldly expressed from her rumpled, long face and disheveled hair. She’s so pissed a strand of her grey hair electrocutes a poor, innocent space traveller in motion. It’s particularly interesting how every feature comes with a hue of black. Noname couldn’t be more proud of her black heritage.

Tracks and Features

While “hold me down” ventures into expansive boom bap area and talks about kicking out on you for a favor for a particular amount, “black mirror” is a calmingly smooth opening track that identifies the artist as a black author, librarian, contrarian, and MC. The song directly addresses one of the album’s major themes: can her political commitments withstand the compromises that come with success? She declares herself to be a “socialism sister,” then adds strongly, “am I supposed to feel different now my rent’s paid?”

This, however, is not a one-dimensional, rabble-rousing piece of conscious rap. “hold me down” dares to bite the hands that feed it, with its sardonic remark “that wasn’t us” before detailing a series of self-inflicted traumas done by the diaspora. She states, with Barack Obama in mind, “First Black President / He the one who bombed us…”

The song “boomboom” transitions into a full-fledged jazz rap song about expressing a wish before “balloons” starring Jay Electronica speaks on metaphorically sobbing the titular object over a smooth background with kicks & snares produced by Saba.

While “namesake” merges these synthseziers & jazzy drum patterns expressing that she never required a guy, “potentially the interlude” charismatically points out that “people said they love but they really love potential…” Naturally, the focus is on her wonderful wordplay. More spoken word poet than rapper, Noname keeps her delivery rhythmic, switching up flows and dancing over the beats. Even at its most basic, this track is little more than a chant. There’s…a lot going on. But the stunning production by UK jazz dynamo Yussef Dayes, as well as the emotional tug of the rapper’s rhymes, mesmerizes you.

While the penultimate track, “gospel?” with Billy Woods of Armand Hammer, $ilkMoney & Stout, blends gospel & boom bap in a promise that the sun will shine, the song “afro futurism” hooks up these pianos with kicks & snares to demonstrate the artist’s enthusiasm for the movement. The hip-hop ballad “oblivion” featuring Common is the ideal option for the album’s closing track because it talks their crap without giving a fuck and has a funky beat.

Tracklist

NO	TITLE	TIME
1	black mirror	2:17
2	hold me down (feat. Jimetta Rose & Voices of Creation)	2:21
3	balloons (feat. Jay Electronica & Eryn Allen Kane)	3:44
4	boomboom (feat. Ayoni)	3:22
5	potentially the interlude	2:07
6	namesake	2:58
7	beauty supply	3:13
8	toxic	3:14
9	afro futurism	2:00
10	gospel? (feat. $ilkMoney, billy woods & STOUT)	3:36
11	oblivion (feat. Common & Ayoni)	2:58

Album Theme

Noname has earned a reputation for integrity by being dedicated to social causes and forthright in her convictions. The release of her first album in five years, “Sundial,” which combines her political and personal problems, only highlights this. Additionally, Noname doesn’t present herself as a revolutionary. She is also not reluctant to engage in sharp self-reflection that exposes her own contradictions.

Production Credits

AJ Halls, Ben Nartey, Berg, BMC, Daoud, emil (UK), Gaetan Judd, Kofo, Nascent, R-Kay, Saba, Slimwav, Waine, Wesley Singerman & Yussef Dayes handled the album’s production.

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