Stream Noname’s New Album Sundial

It’s finally here! Nearly five years ago, the wildly gifted Chicago rapper Noname followed her remarkable Telefone mixtape with her even-more-remarkable debut album Room 25. Since then, Noname has publicly wrestled with her own discomfort about her art and about becoming a public figure, especially as people have attached their own ideas to her. She’s released a few one-off singles and collaborations, but she’s also planted the idea that she might not make another album. When Noname announced her new LP Sundial last month, plenty of people predicted that the album wouldn’t actually come out, especially after Noname argued online with fans who were upset about a Jay Electronica feature. But Sundial is out now, and it’s amazing.

Sundial is a relatively brief album — 11 tracks, 32 minutes — but it leaves you with a lot to consider. Noname names names, and she also considers her own moral compromises. It’s an album full of big ideas and incisive analysis, and you’re going to want to spend some serious time with it. It also sounds absolutely gorgeous. We’ll have more to say about Sundial soon, but you should hear this thing.

Sundial has guest appearances from people like Common, billy woods, $ilkmoney, and Eryn Allen Kane. The promised Jay Electronica feature is fully intact, too. Noname’s longtime collaborator Saba co-produces two tracks, but most of the producers on Sundial are relative unknowns: Gaetan Judd, Daoud, Emil, Slimwav. None of these songs have been released as singles. It’s a whole new experience. Hear the album for yourself below.

Sundial is out now via AWAL.