Noah Raymond Brickley (born February 10, 1978), better known by his
stage name
A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...
Noah23, is a Canadian-American hip hop artist from
Guelph, Ontario
Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Welli ...
. He is co-founder of the Plague Language collective and record label, and has been described as "one of Canada's best, most underrated MCs".
Career
Noah Raymond Brickley was born in 1978 in
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, N ...
and moved to
Guelph, Ontario
Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Welli ...
at the age of 4. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his first album, originally titled ''Plague Language'', in 1999. This album, initially released on cassette, was remastered and released on CD in 2006 under the name ''Cytoplasm Pixel''.
In the late 1990s, Noah23 started the record label Plague Language with producer Orphan (real name Kingston Maguire, who went on to become one half of production duo Blue Sky Black Death). In the early 2000s the Plague Language label released music from artists such as Baracuda,
Livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
Penny
A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...
, The Main, and Madadam. In 2004, following the departure of Orphan, the label entered into a period of indefinite hiatus. Plague Language continues to exist, however, as both an
imprint
Imprint or imprinting may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series
* "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror''
* ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film
...
on associated Canadian label Legendary Entertainment and as a loose collective of Guelph-based hip-hop artists.
Noah23 is involved with
side project
In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style.
Usually these projects emphasize ...
s associated with Plague Language, including Crunk23, Famous Playaz, The Weird Apples, and Bourgeois Cyborgs. He has also collaborated with other artists, such as Lil B The Based God,
Cadence Weapon
Roland "Rollie" Pemberton, better known by his stage name Cadence Weapon, is a Canadian-American rapper based in Toronto, Ontario. Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Pemberton released his first album, ''Breaking Kayfabe'', in 2005 with positi ...
,
Josh Martinez
Matthew Edward Kimber (born August 6, 1977), better known by his stage name Josh Martinez, is a Canadian rapper, record producer and record label executive. In the early 2000s, Martinez started his own label, Camobear Records, to which fellow r ...
,
K-the-I???
Kiki Ceac, better known by his stage name K-the-I???, is an American rapper and producer based in Los Angeles, California and currently signed to Fake Four Inc.
History
K-the-I??? began recording in 2002. He released several small-issue records ...
Myka 9
Michael Lafayette Troy (born January 15, 1969), better known by his stage name Myka 9, is a rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is a member of Freestyle Fellowship, Haiku d'Etat and Magic Heart Genies. Known for years as Mikah Nine, he chang ...
,
Ceschi
Julio Francisco "Ceschi" Ramos (born July 24, 1981), better known as Ceschi Ramos, or simply as Ceschi (pronounced "chess-key"), is an American hip hop musician based in New Haven, Connecticut. He is a co-founder of Fake Four Inc. He won the Co ...
,
Awol One
Anthony Martin, better known by his stage name Awol One, is an alternative hip hop artist and graphic designer based in Los Angeles, California.
Discography
Albums
Awol One
* ''Souldoubt'' (2001) (with Daddy Kev)
* ''Number 3 on the Phone'' (2 ...
, Liz Powell of
Land of Talk
Land of Talk is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2006 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band is led by singer and guitarist Elizabeth Powell.
History
Before becoming the front-person for Land of Talk, Elizabeth Powell began her career as a ...
,
Ghettosocks
Darren Pyper, better known by his stage name Ghettosocks, is a Juno Awards, Juno-nominated Canadian hip hop artist and member of the Backburner (hip hop group), Backburner collective. In early 2010, Ghettosocks' album ''Treat of the Day'' spent se ...
, Kingpin Skinny Pimp, Gregory Pepper, and
Buck 65
Richard Terfry (born March 4, 1972), better known by his stage name Buck 65, is a Canadian alternative hip hop artist. Underpinned by an extensive background in abstract hip hop, his more recent music has extensively incorporated blues, countr ...
.
He has performed with
Kool Keith
Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer from The Bronx, New York City, known for his surreal, abstract and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool ...
,
Busdriver
Regan Farquhar (born February 12, 1978), better known by his stage name Busdriver, is an American rapper and producer from Los Angeles, California. He has collaborated with rappers such as Myka 9, Milo, Nocando, Open Mike Eagle, 2Mex, and Radioi ...
Islands
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
,
Matisyahu
Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), known by his stage name Matisyahu (; ), is an American reggae singer, rapper, beatboxer
Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum mac ...
, and many more, including
Astronautalis
Charles Andrew Bothwell (born December 13, 1981), better known by his stage name Astronautalis, is an American alternative hip hop artist currently based in Brooklyn, New York.
History
After gaining some recognition in local circles in Jacksonvi ...
,
Clouddead
Clouddead (styled as cLOUDDEAD) was an American experimental hip hop group, consisting of Doseone (Adam Drucker), Why? (Yoni Wolf) and Odd Nosdam (David Madson).
The group's name came from a nonsensical knock-knock joke Drucker's sister told hi ...
,
Eternia
''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince Ad ...
,
Grand Buffet
Grand Buffet is a hip-hop funk duo from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, made up of Jackson O'Connell-Barlow (stage names: Iguanadon, Grape-a-Don, Plaps, Nate Kukla, and Mr. Pennsylvania) and Jarrod Weeks (stage names: M-Dog, Lord Grunge, Viceroy, Mat ...
,
Radioinactive
Kamal Humphrey de Iruretagoyena, better known by his stage name Radioinactive, is an American hip hop artist from Los Angeles, California. He is a member of The Shape Shifters. He was a member of Log Cabin along with Eligh, Murs and Scarub. He ...
,
The Constantines
Constantines is an indie rock band from Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
History
Constantines was formed in 1999 by vocalist and guitarist Bryan Webb, drummer Doug MacGregor and guitarist Paul Bright, all of whom had played together in the emo band Sho ...
,
Plastic Little
is a Japanese original video animation film and a manga series created by Satoshi Urushihara. It was released in North America on VHS by ADV Films in July 1994. It was released on DVD in February 2002. Along with '' Burn-Up Excess'' and ''A ...
,
Modulok
The ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' franchise debuted in 1982 with the creation of American company Mattel and the toyline of the same name. This is a list of characters that appear in the toyline, television series ''He-Man and the Mas ...
Swollen Members
Swollen Members is a Canadian hip hop group from Vancouver, British Columbia, consisting mainly of Madchild and Prevail. Frequent collaborators include vocalist Moka Only (who was actually a member of the group for a short period of time in the ...
.
On May 3, 2011, Noah23 announced that he would retire from music at the end of the year. Throughout the first half of 2012 he expressed uncertainty over the possibility of his return to music. On July 31, 2012, he stated he was considering returning to music in the new year, and on August 4 he officially announced he would begin releasing new material in 2013.
Post-hiatus: 2012-present
Noah23's first post-hiatus album, titled ''Wingfoot'', was released for
download
In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote s ...
on December 21, 2012. On February 10, 2013, Noah23 released the EP ''Tropical Fruit'', featuring production by
Pictureplane
Travis Egedy (born May 1, 1985), better known by his stage name Pictureplane, is an American electronic musician, visual artist and fashion designer based in Brooklyn, New York. He first appeared in the music scene of Denver, Colorado, making a ...
. On May 23, he released the collaborative album ''Lotus Deities'', which features an array of guest appearances, and includes a remix of "Comin' Home" by
City and Colour
Dallas Michael John Albert Green (born September 29, 1980) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who records under the name City and Colour. He is also known for his contributions as a singer, rhythm guitarist and songwr ...
. On August 20, he released the third and final entry in the ''Occult Trill'' series, subtitled ''Blast Master Therion''. While the first two entries in the series are mixtapes, this release is considered an "official album". On September 3, he released the
alternative folk
Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation.
The genre has its ...
EP ''Husk'' under his Yukon Dawn moniker. The EP is dedicated to Noah23's mother for her sixtieth birthday. On October 9, he released a
Ween
Ween is an American rock band from New Hope, Pennsylvania, formed in 1984 by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an alternative rock band, the band are ...
-themed mixtape titled ''Ween x Noah23 (Browntape)''. On January 31, 2014, Noah23 released a collaborative EP with producer Horse Head, titled ''Delicate Genius'', On February 23, he released a compilation of guest appearances, singles and miscellaneous tracks titled ''Rare Gems''. On July 23, he released a collaborative album with producer David Klopek titled ''Light Years'', which he described as a "
golden era
''The Golden Era'' was a 19th-century San Francisco newspaper. The publication featured the writing of f.e.g. Mark Twain, Bret Harte, Charles Warren Stoddard (writing at first as "Pip Pepperpod"), Fitz Hugh Ludlow, Adah Isaacs Menken, Ada Clare, ...
", "
boom bap
Boom bap is a subgenre and music production style that was prominent in the East Coast during the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s.
The term "boom bap" is an onomatopoeia that represents the sounds used for the b ...
"-style record, likening its sound to that of his earlier albums ''
Jupiter Sajitarius
''Jupiter Sajitarius'' is a 2004 album by Canadian-American alternative hip hop artist Noah23. It possesses "a remarkable variety of both production and compositions," according to MiC Music Portal. The majority of the album's production was hand ...
'' and ''Crab Nebula'', and to the music of
Kool Keith
Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer from The Bronx, New York City, known for his surreal, abstract and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool ...
,
MF DOOM
Daniel Dumile ( ; July 13, 1971October 31, 2020), best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom (both stylized in all caps), was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and ...
and
Organized Konfusion
Organizing or organized may refer to:
* Organizing (management), a process of coordinating task goals and activities to resources
* Community organizing, in which communities come together to act in their shared self-interest
* Professional organi ...
. On August 23, he released a
trap
A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research.
Trap or TRAP may also refer to:
Art and entertainment Films and television
* ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...
-influenced solo album, titled ''Street Astrology''. On October 31, he released a Halloween-themed EP titled ''Blood'', produced by Party Trash. On January 23, 2015, he released a full-length collaboration with production duo Blown, titled ''Noah23 x Blown'', exploring a range of styles "from based to metal to reggae to hyphy to boom bap". ''Noah23 x Blown'' and the ''Blood'' EP were released on
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
-based label Candy Drips. On May 23, 2015, Noah23 released his first
double-album
A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...
, titled ''Peacock Angel''. As of October 2015, he is recording a new solo album titled ''Aquarian Alien'', after which he will record a fifth collaboration with Crunk Chris, under their CRUNK23 moniker, for release in 2016.
Style
Noah23's lyrical style has been described as "a mix of biological terms, technological expressions, esoteric topics, scientific fractions and traditional 'rap writing'", the repetitive use of which is intended "to weave and enlarge a meta-layered web of correlative links and references". He is influenced by the theory of
memetics
Memetics is a study of information and culture. While memetics originated as an analogy with Darwinian evolution, digital communication, media, and sociology scholars have also adopted the term "memetics" to describe an established empirical study ...
, which he describes as "the study of ideas and language as replicating biological entities that live in the host organism which is the mind". Brickley has described his work as being "like a giant self referential body of thought" characterised by "motif and repetition".
Neophyte Phenotype
''Neophyte Phenotype'' is a 2001 album by Canadian-American alternative hip hop artist Noah23. It features dense wordplay over drum and bass-influenced beats.
Track listing
See also
*2001 in hip hop music
References
2001 albums
Noah2 ...
'' (Plague Language, 2001)
:* ''
Quicksand
Quicksand is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it creates a liquefied soil that los ...
Jupiter Sajitarius
''Jupiter Sajitarius'' is a 2004 album by Canadian-American alternative hip hop artist Noah23. It possesses "a remarkable variety of both production and compositions," according to MiC Music Portal. The majority of the album's production was hand ...
Rock Paper Scissors
Rock paper scissors (also known by other orderings of the three items, with "rock" sometimes being called "stone," or as Rochambeau, roshambo, or ro-sham-bo) is a hand game originating in China, usually played between two people, in which each p ...
Livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
, as The Train Rawbers)
:* ''Bourgeois Cyborgs'' (Legendary Entertainment, 2008) (with Baracuda, as Bourgeois Cyborgs)
:* ''The Big Crunch'' (Legendary Entertainment, 2008) (with Livestock & Madadam, as The Weird Apples)
:* ''Feature Presentation'' (Legendary Entertainment, 2009) (with DS, as Famous Playaz)
Canadian hip hop
The Canadian hip hop scene was established in the 1980s. Through a variety of factors, it developed much slower than Canada's popular rock music scene, and apart from a short-lived burst of mainstream popularity from 1989 to 1991, it remained l ...
tumblr
Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a sho ...
Rate Your Music
Rate Your Music (often abbreviated to RYM) is an online collaborative database of music releases and films. Users can catalog items from their personal collection, review them, and assign ratings in a five-star rating system. The site also fea ...
Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...