Noname’s long awaited debut was finally released on July 31st of 2016.
Despite early reports that the project would be guided by Donnie Trumpet, it is guided entirely by the loving touch of Saba, Phoelix and Cam O'bi.
The album continues the mantra of self-belief and growth she’s been preaching and refines the soulful and gospel elements of her music into a cohesive statement.
Noname explained the significance of the name in an interview with The Fader:
When I initially created it, I wanted it to feel like a conversation with someone who you have a crush on for the first time. Your first time talking on the phone with someone you really like. I wanted it to have all of that awkwardness and laughter and the moments of silence where it’s like, “Ugh, this is really awkward and I don’t know what to say right now.” But you’re excited to tell them new things about yourself. That’s what it started off as. Now, it’s kind of just like, my life is my phone. All of the joy that my friends and family bring me: A phone call, a text message, a meme, laughter, all of that shit exists within my phone. It’s my only access to the world around me, aside from a physical one-on-one interaction, because I don’t have a computer. I’m on my manager’s computer right now.
Here is an in depth look into the creation of Telefone. Track by track. Beginning to end.