Noname live in London: a warm return for one of rap’s modern revolutionaries

“Everybody say ‘Free Palestine!’” Noname demands during an a capella rendition of the war-condemning, materialism-bashing track ‘Namesake’. With candor and eagerness, the crowd instantly obliges and a unified chant echoes and bounces off the walls of the west London venue. A smile flashes across her face, before she continues rapping the rest of the track: “Watch the fighter jet fly high, War machine gets glamorised”.

Noname’s newest album ‘Sundial’, released in 2023, is her third full-length project, succeeding 2018 breakout ‘Room 25’ and 2016 debut mixtape ‘Telefone’. But, after announcing that she wanted to quit music in 2019, yet sporadically releasing tracks, and also cancelling her long-anticipated 2021 album – her first tour in four years is a welcome treat for fans in the UK who are eager to know what’s next. “Who’s been here since ‘Telefone’?” she asks the crowd mid-set as thousands of voices scream back at her. She pauses, and thanks her audience for their support.

To the joy of her dedicated fans, the set is tastefully sprinkled with tracks spanning her entire discography and works. She cheekily raps J Cole diss track ‘Song 33’, hops around stage during Sundial track ‘Boomboom’, eagerly evokes crowd reaction during ‘Rainforest’ and sways with joy during encore closer ‘Shadowman’.

But most notably, the crowd is particularly receptive to many of Noname’s outwardly political lyrics. During set opener ‘Self’, the crowd scream the lyric “my pussy wrote a thesis in colonialism”; during ‘Sundial track’ ‘hold me down’, the crowd-sung lyric “first Black President and he the one that bombed us” feels louder than all others. Perhaps this impassioned chanting of lyrics it’s a reflection of our polarised political climate, or maybe it’s pure admiration for Noname’s audacious and earnest writing skills. From the atmosphere felt in the pit, it’s a healthy mix of both.

In 2019, Noname also expressed her frustration around performing to predominantly white crowds and during her return to London this evening she comments on the audience being “more white than expected”. However upon calls for Black people in the crowd, especially women, there’s a multitude of cheers roaring from across the pit and seated area, potentially signifying a slow shift in demographics from her shows in the 2010s.

At times the sound mix in the room leaves looks of disappointment across the audience hall. We’re keen to pick apart at the nuances of Noname’s tone and delivery of words – her lyricism is what helped propel her to mainstream spaces – but we’re instead met with bleeding sound from the speakers and words missed entirely. Although, this does not take away from the effort of Noname and her entire band. Her status as a multi-hyphenate performer, musician, and slam poet is solidified during this show; her dynamic stage presence and control, self-awareness, and ability to tell stories through performance keeps all eyes on her throughout.

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