Noname released her debut mixtape, Telefone, on July 31, 2016. Her debut album, Room 25, was released on September 14, 2018. She is member of the trio Ghetto Sage, with Smino and Saba.
Noname's interest in poetry led her to compete in local open mics and slam poetry competitions; she placed third place in Chicago's annual Louder Than a Bomb competition. Noname then started to freestyle rap with friends, collaborating with local Chicago artists including Chance the Rapper, Saba, Mick Jenkins, and Ramaj Eroc.
In 2013, she appeared on Chance the Rapper's second mixtape, Acid Rap, contributing a verse to the track "Lost" where she sang the chorus to the song as well as her own verse. She later contributed a verse for the song "Finish Line/Drown" from Chance the Rapper's 2016 mixtape Coloring Book. In December 2016, she appeared with Chance the Rapper on Saturday Night Live. She announced her first tour on November 13, 2016.
In 2014, she was featured on Mick Jenkins' mixtape The Waters, contributing to the track "Comfortable". In 2015, she was featured on multiple tracks from Kirk Knight's album Late Knight Special.
Noname first used the stage name "Noname Gypsy", which she chose as a teenager when she was transitioning from poetry to music, believing "gypsies were very nomadic, just not about staying in one space for a long time". In March 2016, she removed "Gypsy" from her stage name after learning of its racial connotation, saying she was unaware of the negative connotations of the term "gypsy" and did not want to offend Romani people. In a 2016 interview with The Fader, she explained her current stage name, following the change:
"I try to exist without binding myself to labels. I’m not really into labels at all, even the way I dress; I usually don't wear anything with a name brand. For me, not having a name expands my creativity. I’m able to do anything. Noname could potentially be a nurse, Noname could be a screenwriter. I’m not limited to any one category of art or other existence, on a more existential level."
Noname released her first mixtape, Telefone, on July 31, 2016, after three years production. Telefone was Noname's method of publicizing her new stage name, through songs presented as open-ended telephone conversations. The album is centered around important telephone conversations that Noname has had. Her rap speaks of black women's pain and also highlights the struggles of growing up in Chicago. The album was originally released as a free download on Bandcamp, and then on vinyl in September 2017.
Rolling Stone wrote it was one of 2016's "most thought-provoking hip-hop." Stereogum wrote that Noname possessed "a potency and urgency in her complicated, spoken word-esque cadences and subdued delivery that escapes many of her more animated peers." Consequence of Sound wrote that "the louder her music is played, the brighter her cadence glows, giving her lyrics a type of 3D craft that makes Telefone a diary of lessons too relevant to keep to yourself."
In October 2016, Noname and fellow Chicago resident Saba collaborated to produce "Church/Liquor Store", a song that explores the Westside of Chicago where liquor stores sit directly next to places of worship. Noname critiques the gentrification of the neighborhood and the erasure of crime believed to accompany it.
In August 2018, Noname announced that her second album, Room 25, would be released in the fall of 2018. The album, which took approximately one month to record, chronicles the two years since the release of Telefone, during which she moved from Chicago to Los Angeles, and had a short romantic relationship.
Noname compared her maturity on Room 25 to Telefone, saying "Telefone was a very PG record because I was very PG. I just hadn't had sex." Unlike Telefone, Room 25 was created due to a financial obligation. Noname said in an interview, "It came to a point where it was, like, I needed to make an album because I need to pay my rent. I could've done another Telefone tour, but I can't play those songs anymore. Like, I could, but I physically hate it because I've just been playing them for so long." Noname paid for the entire album herself using money from touring and guest appearances on Chance the Rapper projects.
The album was released on September 14, 2018. El Hunt of NME described the album as "flawless" and "smartly constructed and laced with intricate subtlety." Rolling Stone said Noname was "One of the best rappers alive" and included her on a list of "Artists You Need to Know". Pitchfork designated Room 25 as "Best New Music" and wrote that it is "a transcendent coming-of-age tale built around cosmic jazz and neo-soul, delivered by a woman deeply invested in her interiority and that of the world around her." PopMatters said the album was "vintage neo-soul and future rap hand in hand; a soulful sanctuary for those turned off by the austerity of mainstream mumble rap". She performed a three-song medley of "Blaxploitation," "Prayer Song," and "Don't Forget About Me" from the album in her solo television debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on October 17, 2018.
On May 15, 2019, Noname announced that her upcoming second studio album would be titled Factory Baby. In November of that year that she said she was quitting music, and expressed frustration with her predominantly white audience. She went on to say that the demographics of her fanbase made her want to quit music: "I refuse to keep making music and putting it online for free for people who won’t support me. If y'all don't wanna leave the crib I feel it. I don't want to dance on a stage for white people."
Montego Bae
NoName Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wanna fall in love in Montego Bay
I know my heart is wherever he may stay
I think I really wanna go someday
I wanna fall in love in Montego Bay
I know my heart is wherever he may stay
How's it feel to be on my mind?
I had a dream across seas for you and me
Sun ray on my lap I love it on my back
Oh sweet bae holy sun
Oh future husband, undress me under the moon
Sweet bae someday will come soon
I think I really wanna go someday
I wanna fall in love in Montego Bay
I know my heart is wherever he may stay
I think I really wanna go someday
I wanna fall in love in Montego Bay
I know my heart is wherever he may stay
My lil' baby wanna smoke with me
Dread head in a party getting close to me
Said hol' up, slow up, roll up, roll up
Dance slow, baby, dance slow, baby smoke
Niggas off the gasoline
Smoking backwoods in the backwoods
Living lavishly
Ooh ooh, that's Mon-Montego Bay
I know my nigga like me
I know he cook his curry spicy
I know he eat me like I'm wifey
You know my hotel over pricey
So he gon' fuck me like I'm Oprah
Classy bitch only use a coaster
Now I'm swimmin in the money with a ducky too
Reading Toni Morrison in a nigga canoe
'Cause a bitch really bout her freedom 'cause a bitch suckin dick in the new Adidas
And yes and yes, I'm problematic too
And yes and yes, I lick 'em up, oh yes I really do
Protection is a wave, wave cause we be open too
Jamaica thank you for my baby, I'm in love wit' you
In "Montego Bae," NoName expresses her desire to find love in Montego Bay, Jamaica. She sings about how she had a dream of meeting her future husband there, and the lyrics suggest that she's ready for this to happen soon. The theme of love is central to the song, as NoName uses it to express her longing for a deeper connection. She also touches upon the idea of freedom, both within a relationship and in general, as she sings about reading Toni Morrison while in Jamaica.
The second verse describes a night out with a dread-headed man who wants to smoke with her. She recounts how they slow things down, get close, and smoke together while listening to music. NoName fantasizes about her dream man and hints that her love life may be problematic. Ultimately, though, she thanks Jamaica for the experience and implies that she's in love with the country just as much as she is with her dream man.
Overall, "Montego Bae" is a love song that's both dreamy and introspective. It's about finding love, but it's also about finding oneself and embracing freedom.
Line by Line Meaning
I think I really wanna go someday
The artist desires to visit Montego Bay some day
I wanna fall in love in Montego Bay
The artist wants to find love in Montego Bay
I know my heart is wherever he may stay
The artist believes that her heart will be at the place where she finds love
How's it feel to be on my mind?
The artist is expressing her thoughts about the person she is thinking of
I can't believe I found you in time
The artist is grateful to have found the person she is thinking of on time
I had a dream across seas for you and me
The artist had a dream that involves her and the person she is thinking of, and it was a dream about a distant place
Sun ray on my lap I love it on my back
The artist loves the feeling of the sun on her lap and back
Oh sweet bae holy sun
The artist is referring to the sun as a sweet bae (baby) and a holy entity
Oh future husband, undress me under the moon
The artist is addressing her future husband, asking him to undress her under the moonlight
Sweet bae someday will come soon
The artist believes that her sweet bae (future husband) will come soon
My lil' baby wanna smoke with me
The artist's partner wants to smoke with her
Dread head in a party getting close to me
The artist is describing a person with dreadlocks who is getting close to her at a party
Said hol' up, slow up, roll up, roll up
This line is a repeated phrase telling someone to hold on and slow down before rolling up (smoking)
Dance slow, baby, dance slow, baby smoke
The artist is telling her partner to dance slowly and smoke while doing so
Niggas off the gasoline
This line is a reference to getting high off gasoline, which is dangerous and unpredictable
Smoking backwoods in the backwoods
The artist and her partner are smoking backwoods (blunt wraps) in the forest (backwoods)
Living lavishly
The artist and her partner are living extravagantly
Ooh ooh, that's Mon-Montego Bay
The artist is excited to be in Montego Bay
I know my nigga like me
The artist is confident that her partner likes her
I know he cook his curry spicy
The artist knows that her partner likes to cook spicy curry
I know he eat me like I'm wifey
The artist knows that her partner treats her as if she is his wife
You know my hotel over pricey
The artist's hotel is expensive
So he gon' fuck me like I'm Oprah
The artist believes that her partner will please her as if she is Oprah (a successful and respected woman)
Classy bitch only use a coaster
The artist describes herself as a classy person who uses coasters
Now I'm swimmin in the money with a ducky too
The artist is swimming in money with a rubber duck
Reading Toni Morrison in a nigga canoe
The artist is reading a book by Toni Morrison (an American novelist) in a canoe
'Cause a bitch really bout her freedom 'cause a bitch suckin dick in the new Adidas
The artist values her freedom and independence, and feels that performing oral sex while wearing new Adidas shoes is an act of freedom
And yes and yes, I'm problematic too
The artist acknowledges that she has faults and can sometimes cause problems
And yes and yes, I lick 'em up, oh yes I really do
The artist is saying that she performs oral sex enthusiastically and enjoys it
Protection is a wave, wave cause we be open too
The artist believes that contraception is important and necessary because she and her partner are open about their sexuality
Jamaica thank you for my baby, I'm in love wit' you
The artist is thanking Jamaica (the place where she found love) and expressing her love for it
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Hipgnosis Songs Group
Written by: Fatimah Warner, Michael Anthony Neil
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind