NEWS
The wait for Noname’s third studio album, the highly anticipated follow-up to 2018’s Room 25, has been extended indefinitely as the Chicago rapper grapples with creative blocks and a lack of genuine connection with producers.
On a since-expired Instagram story post, Noname said: “Most days I’m not sure if I’ll ever make music again. The last time I was consistently making songs was four years ago. It’s been so hard to find producers to link up with and who I genuinely connect with sonically. I’m truly grateful for the art I was able to release but that might be it from me.”
A representative for Noname did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
“No lie, this shit actually makes me incredibly sad and I rarely leave the crib these days,” she continued on Instagram. “I don’t want to keep lying and saying there’s an album on the way when there’s not.”
Earlier this year, the rapper told Rolling Stone that her third studio album Factory Baby was in its early stages, but could be finished within two months with the right level of focus. She had been working on it with producer DJ Dahi (Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Big Sean) and creating what she referred to as “Noname music,” which made sense of the lived experiences she’s had between releases.
“I think I’m always just kind of living with it,” she had said. “I live, live, live for years and then I come back, and I vomit.” She’s released scattered singles since Room 25, including the candid “Rainforest” shared in February, but the only consistent stream of creative output has come from her book club. The Noname Book Club meets monthly for conversations around two texts by writers of color who reckon with inequity.
“I’m like, ‘If I made a fire album and I still kept doing the same thing where I’m not putting out personal merch and I’m driving all of my fans to go purchase book-club merch, we would just be able to raise more money and do more things,’” she said. The book club has formed 12 local chapters in Boston, Phoenix and London. Noname doesn’t seem to be done creating, or sparking radical and introspective conversations — it just might not be in the format expected of her.
At the BTS concert in Tokyo on Friday (April 17), j-hope opened up to ARMY with heartbreaking news. His grandmother, who played a major role in raising him and had always been proud of his journey with the group, has passed away.
Speaking to the packed crowd at the Tokyo Dome, the K-pop star chose to be open with fans about what he was going through. “Honestly, this might be a bit of a heavy thing to share, but I really wanted to express how I’m feeling today,” he said, translated from Korean into English. “Right after we arrived in Japan, I got the news that my maternal grandmother, the one who raised me from when I was little, had passed away.”
“I felt completely stunned and did not really know how to process it at first, but being around the members, sitting down together for meals, and focusing on rehearsals helped me more than I thought it would,” j-hope went on. “My grandmother was always incredibly proud, not just of me but of all the members. She truly believed in what we do. So I feel like if she was watching from above today, she would have loved every second of it.”
He closed by thanking the audience for making his first performance after the loss feel meaningful and full of support.
BTS are currently touring in support of their new album ARIRANG, which has just earned a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Following three opening shows in Goyang, South Korea, the group is set to perform twice at the Tokyo Dome before heading abroad for the North American leg. Before the tour wraps in March next year, they will also visit Latin America, Europe, Australia, and several other regions across Asia.
On the same day as the first Tokyo concert, j-hope’s solo interview with Rolling Stone was released. During the conversation, he spoke about stepping into a leadership presence within the group. “I think that’s my role on the team,” he shared. “It just comes naturally. It feels strange to even call it a role, but I just try to handle things as they come and support the other members in any way I can.”
Additional reporting from Billboard Korea.
