Noah23

Noah 23’s first foray outside the Plague Language camp, a seven-inch released by Northstar Imprint and produced by the label’s Jaffa Gate, is a mixture of ups and downs. "Paper Cranes” is a spiritual New Age ditty with live clave and Rhodes weaving throughout the mix. It’s a mellow and relaxing beat which Noah never seems to be fully comfortable rapping over. The ethereal chorus is rather nice, though. On the flip, "No Such Thing As Twins” is another slow mover, but this time with more menace. When Noah flows along sing-song and applies some emphasis to syllables, it’s suddenly obvious what was missing on "Paper Cranes.” This project results in two beautifully chilled beats (but alas, no instrumentals), and a pretty good showing by Noah 23 with "Twins.” It’s nice to see him getting his music out there, but it’s hard not to imagine how much better a Noah 23 seven-inch could have been if the Orphan, Lovely, Andy Warhol, or some other member of the Plague Language crew had laced Noah with beats better suited to him.