by Eric Foreman (@ericforemanDPT)
Che Noir is building a foundation. The Buffalo rapper and entrepreneur layers her past lessons, each brick building a vision of a sustainable future. Like her western New York rap counterparts, Noir sands rough friction from her upbringing into a smoothed-over confidence. However, instead of attempting to fortify a defensive armor, Noir’s learned past allows for a more honest, vulnerable swagger. On her EP The Color Chocolate Vol. 1, Che Noir gives a sampling of her cerebral raps, restless productivity, and slick wisdom.
At 30 years old, Che Noir is a prolific rapper, barber shop/salon owner and retailer of her own skin care products. Her work ethic is undeniable. What may come off as implicit drive is a direct response to lived hardship elaborated through her storied musical career. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t expect to crush competition, instead she can still see the forest while wrestling with the trees. On opener “Peaches & Herb” she slings smooth internal rhymes that float comfortably over a beat backed by soul sample. She implores “the top ain’t for everyone only a few got a turn/ got my foot in the door by knocking down the do not disturb,” justifying her work hard ethos. She is surprisingly comfortable over beats that are either drumless or close to, the force in her voice adding the knock throughout the tracks.
Throughout the EP, she is also supported by a cast of features each making a unique contribution to the project. On the opener, Ransom fits smoothly in the soulful production. His percussive voice echoing Noir’s flow and message, an easy hand off from like to like. “Junior High” maintains the soul of the first track but trades the fortified chorus of the previous beat for a creeping whimper that supports the dancing piano rhythm. Both Evidence and Your Old Droog sound relaxed, relaying stories from their past. Che indents “Was ridiculed by my peers, they whisper pointing while they laugh/7th grade I had a pistol pointed at my back” providing a sample layer of childhood challenges.
Throughout the short project, the beats are spacious – adding room for the MC’s to use their voice with as much gusto as needed in the song. On “Greek Scholar” the synth line provides a moving melody to Che Noir and ICECOLDBISHOP’s ferocious bars. BISHOP moves with a wild energy adding hinge-less urgency to Noir’s predictably calculated approach. The juxtaposition of the two excite the feeling of briefly entertaining the intrusive thoughts before logic and sense bat away. Final track “Vanilla Skies” is a solo exploration of misguided youth responding to disadvantaged environment. Throughout the track Noir waxes poetic about fights with her family and her peers, how the youth of her family radiated poor decision making, and how she has used each moment as a catalyst for patience and excellence in her adulthood.
Though a short order, The Color Chocolate is an apt distillation of Che Noir’s artistry. The Buffalo roots are outwardly evident in her production and style and her earnestness is at times disarming and at times endearing. In just 4 songs, Che Noir is able to refract her relentless introspection into tales of successes as well as a journey not finished.