NONAME with RAVYN LENAE at the Phoenix Concert Theatre (410 Sherbourne), Sunday (March 5), doors 8 pm. $17.50. ticketmaster.ca. See listing.
It’s a few weeks before the Women’s March, and Chicago rapper Noname (aka Fatimah Warner) is explaining how the song Bye Bye Baby, off last year’s debut project, Telefone, is about the idea of abortion as an act of self-love. The inspiration came from knowing many women who had gone through the experience and realizing that there wasn’t really anything in music that recognizes that reality.
“There are very negative connotations around having an abortion, that it’s a selfish, hateful act. That’s not what I see,” she says. “I don’t think that abortion is without love. Sometimes having a kid is not the chase. For a woman to make a decision that’s about her needs is about self-love. Women’s right to have freedom and agency over their bodies is important.”
The desire to create something for an audience that loves hip-hop is one of the many reasons Noname made the transition from spoken-word artist to rapper. She honed her talent for cathartic words that can help heal at YOUmedia Program for Young Creatives at Chicago’s Harold Washington Library. Collaborations ensued with Chance the Rapper, Mick Jenkins and Saba while she was running in the same circles as those artists.
“The spaces for spoken word can be depressing, and poetry can be really serious. I wanted to inject light into my work, and rap is fun,” she says. “People who knew my poetry were the first to buy tickets. It grew from there.”
Telefone is very much a Chicago album. Much like collaborator Chance’s Coloring Book mixtape, it’s about the experiences of life in the city, dealing with violence and pain. It’s also very much about Black femininity and what it’s like to grow up as a Black woman.
“I think we need more stories that are not heard on the forefront. It’s about widening the scope of what exists already. The film Moonlight is so brilliant because it takes on the task of spreading stories we don’t see that are so necessary,” she says.
Noname’s upbringing had a huge impact on her writing. She had a difficult childhood. She didn’t think she was very studious and had a challenging time fitting in.
“There was a time when I listened to nothing but Avril Lavigne. I remember thinking I’m not talented and that I have nothing to call my own. I didn’t start writing poetry until sophomore year in high school.”
The transition from feeling like an outsider to suddenly being thrown into the spotlight after working with high-profile artists hasn’t been easy. This is the most attention she’s ever gotten. Before the success of Telefone, she felt people were often second-guessing her capabilities as an artist.
She still struggles with people’s thirst to know more about her life and how to filter herself when she’s feeling vulnerable, a trait that has drawn so many to the lyrics of her intimate songs. Although she’s still figuring out what parts of her life she needs to keep to herself, she understands the importance of reaching out to her audience – especially right now, when the lives of so many people of colour are compromised.
“Art usually blossoms in times of trauma. It’s when people feel misheard and mistreated that powerful art comes to the forefront.”
music@nowtoronto.com | @therealsamsam
