Friday, October 17, 2025

Rolling Stones Top 200 Rap Albums of All-Time - ROOM 25 by Noname

The number generator gave me number 56, which is Room 25 by Noname.  I know nothing of Noname (which isn't uncommon for me of the last 10 years of rap - except Kendrick and a few others).  I don't know if it is a group or a solo artist, but I am game.  Let's go...




First Track:  Self
Start:  OK, so I was caught off-guard.  My first initial thought - other than I love the cover art - is that, Whoa, this is a female artists.  Not because females can't rap, but just the percentages are low.  And I mention this because this song contains a line, "And ya'll thought a bitch couldn't rap, huh?  Maybe this your answer for that."  This is a very smooth song - and the piano addition is amazing!

Best Attribute:  Her flow.  Right up there with the best of all time.  For the record by flow I mean the rhythm in which she raps.
Worst Attribute:  This album only has 10 - mostly short - songs.  Would love to hear more.

Best Song:  Ace! - This song features Smino and Saba, her cohorts in the group Ghetto Stage.  Their musical chemistry is fantastic.
Worst Song:  Window - This is actually a really good song, as I am just splitting hairs for consistency among my reviews.  This one is worst because it just takes a while to get moving.  The ending is fire, though.

Most Interesting Song:  Montego Bay - This one is the most interesting because of the upright bass, which I love.
Most Interesting Quality:  The jazziness, and the quality and feel of the production.  And, as stated earlier, her flow!!!

Would I listen again: Hell Yeah!!!  In fact, I have a weekend of listening to more Noname and Ghetto Stage ahead of me.

Who would I like to Re-Make/Re-Imagine this Album:  So a little bit of a story here, My first instinct was D'Angelo (RIP), but then during the album Noname literally raps, "Somebody get D'Angelo.  I think I need him on this one!"  So apparently Noname thinks he would work on her songs also.  So, I have three others:  The first person I thought of was Doechii, who  might give it an edgier feel - but I didn't want to get caught up in the fact that I have to find a female rapper to remake this album. Then I thought De La Soul because of the jazz, social-conscious rap type of feel.  But in reality, to re-imagine this album, but keep some of its feel and intent, the answer for me is Nas.

Rolling Stone Ranking:  56
My Current Ranking:  2
Projected Final Ranking: 31

Top 200 Rap Albums of All-Time

1.  Illmatic, Nas
2.  Room 25, Noname
3.  400 Degreez, Juvenile
4.  Bandana, Freddie Gibbs and Madlib
5.  Enta Da Stage, Black Moon

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