Speed: Let me first start off by saying Happy New Year. The last time we spoke, it was around the time you decided to respond to Con, but we’re finally getting to that NoFace/SOTB interview we talked about some time ago.

NoFace, Rapper: Thanks and same to you. 2018 provided some great life lessons for great music soon to come.

Speed: Ain’t that the truth? 2018 was wild. For example, the NOVA Battle Royale. I tried to keep up as best as I could, but then you and Geronimo and The Fury MCs and everyone just started dropping hella responses out of nowhere. I was just like “I’m only one man, dammit” and retweeted and listened instead of offering full-on reviews. Will we see more “it’s all in the spirit of competition and for the love of the bars” tracks from you in 2019?

NoFace: If my name gets mentioned. But, 2018, for me, personally? I went through a lot. I went through unemployment, had a baby, bought a house, and so on.

Speed: Congratulations on the baby, bruh! Welcome to the Daddy Club. Now, with regards to the house, I’m trying to get like you soon. Speaking of kids, will your kid(s) ever hear your music or will you go out of your way to prevent them from hearing you drop bars?

NoFace: I want [my son] to hear when he can properly comprehend it. I want to train his ears to listen to a song in its entirety–production, lyrics, melody, et cetera.

Speed: I understand completely. I always hope that my kids will understand where I came from, musically-speaking. You never know, though. So, about this new project, do you have  release date in mind? I know that you originally planned to drop something by the end of 2018, but, with llife, you had to readjust and re-calibrate.

NoFace: Somewhat. There’s an April timeframe. Making quality costs.

Speed: True. By the way, love the cover art.

NoFace: Same. The album is loosely based around it. I’ll officially drop the art closer to the album’s release, possibly around March.

Speed: Are you working with various producers on this one or are you sticking with one throughout the duration of the project?

NoFace: There’s a total of three producers, I believe. This is truly my best project to date. It came from a very dark place.

Speed: Some of the best work comes from the darkness. So what should listeners expect from the project? Will it be less rappity-rapping and more storytelling or a mix? I mean, you excel at both, so there’d be no L caught either way…but I want to know.

NoFace: It’s definitely a mix, but I tried–really tried–to stay away from rappity-rapping. I wanted to construct a true body of work and focus on certain topics and emotions I was going through at the time. Just rapping for the sake of rapping is always fun, but, for the sake of art, I needed to challenge myself.

Speed: Now If I’m a guy off the street who doesn’t know you from a hole in the wall. how would you get me excited to hear your project?

NoFace: I probably wouldn’t. I’d ask what kind of artists you like. If you named some artists in my realm, I’d ask that you listen to me. It’s probably terrible marketing. But, with so many artists and so much music dropping on a regular basis, it’s hard to be that excited about a guy you’ve never heard of.

Speed: At least you’re honest and humble. Will we hear any 9GN on the project?

NoFace: I can’t say yet. But, there will be collaborations. There’s a lot of talented people in the area and I tried to make amazing songs with them. Shoutout to 90Wyse and Geronimo, too. We really are unstoppable when we rap together.

Speed: What’s on your playlist?

NoFace: 90Wyse, J.I.D., and The-Dream.

Speed: One of these things is not like the other.

NoFace: I love R&B and so does the wife. You know he dropped three albums worth of music?

Speed: Yeah, I heard parts of it. Speaking of R&B, do you have any opinions on this Jacquees situation?

NoFace: I mean, I can’t fault him entirely. Whether he means it or not, that’s insignificant. We as a culture reward outlandish statements, so he wins. Also, he brought attention to R&B as well. As far as talent goes, he’s nowhere near being a “King” of the genre. I’m not sure that this generation will have anyone as big as Chris Brown.

Speed: With that in mind, considering Chris Brown has had his fair share of controversy, what are your thoughts on XXXTentacion and 6ixnine?

NoFace: RIP to XXX. Now, I’m 28 years old. So, I don’t pay that much attention to the younger artists. But, they figured out a lane to garner attention in an overcrowded game. Unfortunately, it ended up bad for them. Sometimes, I have to remember who follows these artists and a lot of them are impressionable children. When I was in high school, I loved some wild artists.

Speed: Hell, yeah! Shoot, DMX is still one of my faves. As a father, I’m conflicted. I don’t want my kids singing “FEFE,” but I’m like “as a kid, one of my favorite DMX songs was ‘What These Bitches Want.”

NoFace: Exactly. It’s just important to provide context and be able to explain things. It’s like Black Mirror. With all this advanced technology comes a price, and we’re seeing it daily.

Speed: Did you see the Black Mirror movie and/or Birdbox?

NoFace: Yup. I’m still wondering how Birdbox became such a hot topic.

Speed: No clue. I thought it was kind of weak. My fiancee and I were just like “oh, okay. That was…interesting” and saw the plot twists from miles away.

NoFace: Lots of unanswered questions. Bandersnatch, however, was innovative. They should’ve dropped the regular season, though, and then dropped that as an add-on.

Speed: I agree with you, even though I haven’t seen Bandersnatch yet. Outside of dystopian timelines, music, and family, what are some things you find yourself getting into?

NoFace: Not too much with a two-month-old. Pretty much just playing video games, hanging with friends, trying to experience life and document it through music. Oh, and figuring out ways to make money independently of my 9-5.

Speed: If you had to describe yourself to someone using as few words as possible, how would you?

NoFace: Observant, goofy, thoughtful, and honest.

Speed: And as I always try to uplift folks, do you have any words of encouragement?

NoFace: I’d say plan your New Year’s resolutions and stick to them. Some people think they’re corny, but ain’t nothing wrong with trying to better yourself.

To get more familiar with NoFace between now and his new project, check out this link (courtest of Songwhip.com).