Noname - Telefone

The Guardian 80

Noname’s modest, intricate mixtape describes her coming of age experiences with such sweet reverie it makes you nostalgic for a childhood you never actually had. With both Knowles sisters and A Tribe Called Quest examining black identity on their career bests this year, the Chicago star similarly processes life as an African American (on Casket Pretty she imagines being shot by police), rapping about heartache and morality with glitchy electronic-soul as a soundbed.

A vintage filter runs throughout; chintzy dinner pianos, the sort of feel-good bass that would score an 80s sitcom. Noname, who was born Fatimah Warner and has previously shared verses with Chance the Rapper, enlists a cast of varied, rich voices: Raury’s starry eyed spirituality, Xavier Omär’s velvet croon, and Cam O’bi, who sums up the record’s charms perfectly on Diddy Bop: “This sounds like growing out my clothes, with stars in my pocket, dreaming about making my hood glow.”