The Alt Black

     Back at it again with concert season! This concert season started off with Noname (formerly Noname Gypsy), a female rapper from Chicago who is a refreshing voice on the rap scene. In a world filled with female rappers dissing one another, boosting their income, and their sexual exploits. Noname’s approach to the game is one that is more socially conscious and sincere than the mainstream artists. Noname is known for her features with Chance the Rapper, most of us probably remember her verse on Lost.

 

I blessed myself inside your arms one day

Swear to God there I was when the dress

And the Silver buttons fade away

Miss Mary Mattress, geriatrics

Fuck me into open caskets, I wanna die with this

I wanna stop seeing my psychiatrist

She said “pill pop, baby girl cause I promise you, you tweaked

The empty bottled loneliness, this is happiness you seek”

The masochism that you preach

Practice back flips, tragic address

On a movie with no screen

When the only time he loves me is naked in my dreams

     I remember the first time I heard her voice, I was driving down the road, passenger seat, while my cousin played the Acid Rap mixtape. My mind, body, and soul were not ready. Who was this girl who had just broken through the fourth wall? My eardrums had been penetrated by a sound that was sorrowful yet poetic. Every time I hear her voice over a track, I feel refreshed. Needless to say, from that day on I was a fan of her music. So when I got a notification that she was coming to town I knew that I had to see her. With her first show selling out almost instantaneously, I jumped immediately when she added a second show that night.

     The show was held at one of D.C’s most prominent venues, U Street Music Hall. With the rain drizzling down, second-hand smoke hitting me from all directions, and the doors opening at ten I knew that this show was going to be another one to remember.  The show began with DJ Finesse, a DJ from Chicago who had no problem getting the crowd hype, with his 90’s throwback jams and his playlist of Chicago artists. As he finished his set, he instructed us to say “Hey Ravyn” and as we spoke her name she was on the stage. 

     Before the show began, I had a conversation with a security guard about the first show and he assured me that her voice was angelic. He told no lies, Ravyn’s voice reminded me of a good vibes and chill vibrations. Before every song, she explained the meaning of the song, along with the color that song made her feel. Her energy was sprightly and it filled the room with warmth. She made sure to make use of the stage, making sure that each fan felt her presence. What will stay with me forever about her performance, was her candidness. “I am a communicator, but I want you to leave here with something that you didn’t have before.” (loosely quoted) 

Ravyn Lenae has one project out (Moon Shoes) and another coming soon (Midnight Moonlight)

 Moon Shoes EP

Midnight Moonlight

coming soon (happily waiting)

After Ravyn finished her polychromatic set, it was time for Noname to grace the stage. We were all waiting on pins and needles as the clocked ticked closer and closer to twelve o’ clock, we began to grow restless. And honestly, how could we stay calm!? This is Noname! Rapper extraordinaire, awkward black girl, and authenticity at its peak.

Noname-Telefone

When Noname’s set began, her band came out and performed the chorus to Sunday Morning. Within seconds I was singing along with them as Noname’s voice began to fill the room with slight ad libs and rumblings from the crowd trying to pinpoint her location. When she emerged from the backstage, she was met with a roar of love and admiration. I cannot remember the first song that she sang, but considering the fact that she had just finished a show an hour before and suffering from bronchitis,  her energy was not lacking. She repeatedly hopped and bounced around the stage with a smile on her face. Her set was filled with a live pianist, a bassist, a guitar, drummer, and live vocals. Noname also knows her fan base, she performed her verse on lost and finish line/ drown during her set. She had a montage of iconic black films playing in the background. During one point in the show, I stopped to take notice of Radio Raheem from Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing. She even did an homage to James Brown, when she left the stage and came out in a shimmering red cap with the words Noname in the back inside of a heart. (Possibly a tribute to James Brown)

My favorite part of the set was when Noname and I got hype together, it was surreal she was rapping her lyrics looking at me and I would do the next line. The energy was awesome! I’ll never forget that moment. Noname is an artist that truly puts her fans first, after the last song of her set was completed, she came back out to the chanting of encore. Through a packed out venue, a second show, and having bronchitis! Noname performed Shadow Man acapella and had us perform with her as an impromptu choir.

 

*Thank you to everyone who helped the night to be a success

*The Venue and its workers

*Felix on Keys

*Connor on Drums

*Ron on the Guitar

*My sister who was on Keys that night

*Noname’s Vocal Choir

*Everyone who sang along

*The City of Chicago