Fans of Chicago artist Noname are anticipating the drop of her new album after a chain of cryptic tweets posted by the artist. It’s been over two years since Fatimah Nyeema Warner released her debut mixtape Telefone in July 2016, which was received with worldwide critical acclaim. Since then, Noname has made plenty of guest appearances alongside the likes of Joseph Chilliams and Saba, but with no indication of new music in the works. In mid-July, she revealed on Twitter that a new album, titled Room 25, was soon to come. With a spot at this year’s Listen Out festival secured, Noname has now revealed two sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney along with a photo on social media. “This is the last picture I’m posting,” the artist said. “Next one will be the album cover.” Will Noname drop her album before her visit to Australia in September? The odds seem likely, but only time will tell.
‘Flexin’ is the latest track from Adelaide-born artist Tkay Maizda, who’s powered into the music industry with anthems like ‘Brontosaurus’, ‘U-Huh’ and ‘M.O.B’, as well as her 2016 album, TKAY. The track is an ode to being herself and being unapologetic for it. Having written the song off the back of an all-nighter rave, the trap-fuelled track was given a new life by American rapper and songwriter Duckwrth, who collaborated with Tkay on it during his time in Australia. Tkay Maidza will be premiering her new sound on a special run of intimate club shows, including Melbourne on Friday September 14. Alongside her will be an all-star lineup of supports, including genre-bending newcomer Arno Faraji, as well as Sydney rapper and songwriter Kwame, who opened this year’s Splendour In The Grass Festival and has sky-rocketed to fame thanks to tracks like ‘WOW’, ‘Friends’, and ‘Feel Good’.
This week’s local spotlight shines brightly on Nardean, an Egyptian-Australian hip hop artist, poet and singer-songwriter from Sydney’s West. Her work skilfully crafts trap beats and combines them with brutally honest, sometimes political and highly descriptive lyrics. She has recently released her debut EP, Creatress, which addresses stories of survival, women’s strength and abuse. Throughout it, Nardean’s sound combines a meaningful mixture of stripped back neo-soul, spoken poetry and lyricism, exploring deeply personal and evocative imagery, all carried effortlessly by extraordinary vocals and rhymes. Collaborating with fellow female artists ALPHAMAMA, Alice Night and Georgia Frew, Nardean’s music is a modern-day perspective of the female experience. A truly talented and diverse artist, Nardean’s work ranges from using Arabic modes and Western Art music to refreshing and remixing tracks like J.Cole’s ‘A Tale Of 2 Citiez’ from his 2014 album, Forest Hill Drive.
