Buffalo emcee and producer Che Noir is back with It Takes a Village, an album built around her transition into motherhood and the support system it takes to raise a child and a career at the same time, as first reported by UndergroundHipHopBlog.
The credits read like a boom bap wish list. Havoc produced “Urban Essence” with The Uce. Mathematics laced “Fame & Fiction” with Black Thought. Conductor Williams handled “Conductor’s Interlude” and “Wasted Time” with Ransom. Nottz is behind “My Village,” and Chuck Strangers produced “Magic” with Bruiser Wolf. Jynx716 also appears on “Olive Branches.”
The IAHHM Take
Che Noir has been one of the most consistent pens in the underground for years. 38 Spesh signed her to TCF Music Group, Apollo Brown produced her debut full-length As God Intended, and her self-produced After 12 in 2020 is when a lot of fans first locked in. Since then she has kept a steady pace, from The Color Chocolate to The Lotus Child to last year’s Desired Crowns with 7xvethegenius.
What makes this one different is the subject. Hip hop has plenty of songs about being a dad, but far fewer full albums from women working through motherhood in real time: the sacrifices, the money pressure, city life and wanting to make her own mother proud. Track titles like “Grandma’s Cookies” and “A Caged Mockingbird” tell you she’s writing from the kitchen table, not the club.
UndergroundHipHopBlog scored it a 7/10, calling it one of her most personal projects and saying the production gets stronger around the midpoint. Getting Black Thought, Havoc and Nottz on one album also says a lot about the respect she has earned.
So who’s your pick for the most underrated woman in rap right now? Make the case below.
More new music on IAHHM: Tierra Whack Opens Seven New Rooms in ‘WHACK’S MUSEUM’.
Source: UndergroundHipHopBlog
