Room 25
by Noname
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 248 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 219 out of 248
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 248
  3. Negative: 17 out of 248
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  1. sammyanthony
    Sep 26, 2018
    9
    Identified as a lullaby rap, it's too heavy-lyrical-content album to rock anyone to sleep, despite the ultra gentle touch Noname's rap gave in this Room 25. Still, all elements of the production that needed to make this album powerful are there. Everything in its place. Without doubt, Room 25 may enrich the list of hip-hop classics.
  2. DamonAubergine
    Sep 21, 2018
    7
    After Listening to Room 25 a few times, a great sense of relaxation is felt through not only the beats themselves, but the lyrics that accompany them. Noname's voice perfectly compliments the chilled out beats and flow of the tracks.

    Although this is an impressively made album, it does feel like a lot of the tracks meld together and you get lost as to which track you are listening to.    After Listening to Room 25 a few times, a great sense of relaxation is felt through not only the beats themselves, but the lyrics that accompany them. Noname's voice perfectly compliments the chilled out beats and flow of the tracks.

    Although this is an impressively made album, it does feel like a lot of the tracks meld together and you get lost as to which track you are listening to. The similarities of the tracks sometimes works for artists, but with Noname, I think it takes away from her lyrical and techincal skill.    … Expand
  3. juanmanueltorov
    Sep 27, 2018
    10
    She as a songwriter knows exactly how she have to manage her voice to make it sound perfect with the beat, also she uses some things you can experience in your daily live and makes it so beautiful and poetic. The album put together makes total sense, making you drown in some relax vibes and singing along.
  4. PeterSant
    Jan 3, 2020
    10
    It is an extremely amazing and true album. Noname presents your world, your life, your being! "She makes Room 25" a complete work, with jazz touches that sweeten her rap, talking about her stuff more personal than you have ever lived in your life. "Room 25" shows the strength and voice of the American black woman.
  5. Room25
    Sep 17, 2018
    10
    Congratulations Girl! You Made the Best album of the Year! I am a huge fan of Noname and this album is so true, so herself... I can’t describe but I loved the lyrics, the production... there’s no bad sog
  6. takudzwa
    Sep 17, 2018
    10
    One of the best albums of the year. A perfect blend of rap and neo-soul. The album has top notch production, amazing lyrics and great features. Noname took her time with this album and it paid off. There is zero filler and Room 25 is just on par, if not better, than the debut.
  7. gilmorespore
    Sep 17, 2018
    10
    Every song adds something special to the album and demonstrates Noname's incredible ability to tell compelling stories. Telefone was an album that I've listened to consistently for the last two years - with this new project, Noname manages to match, if not exceed, the bar this album left behind. This is not an album to be missed - a definite highlight of 2018.
  8. Trashad
    Nov 7, 2018
    3
    To be honest the album is OK, but this album isn't a 90 or + rating I'll say 80 to 85. The album could of been so much better from my opinion. She is an amazing artist, but I wasn't really feeling the album I only liked about 2 or 3 songs
  9. MediumMonarch
    Sep 18, 2018
    7
    Deeply inferior to Telefone, which makes it seem worse than it is by comparison.

    A poor blending of instrumental and vocal makes it flat-out hard to hear what's she's saying on certain tracks. Given that her vocal quality is such a vital part of her performance, this is deeply disappointing. When it comes to lyrical content, very little is added that wasn't more elegantly presented    Deeply inferior to Telefone, which makes it seem worse than it is by comparison.

    A poor blending of instrumental and vocal makes it flat-out hard to hear what's she's saying on certain tracks. Given that her vocal quality is such a vital part of her performance, this is deeply disappointing. When it comes to lyrical content, very little is added that wasn't more elegantly presented before, save a throughline of new-found fame and its impacts. So far, so predictably uninteresting.

    Stylistically Noname seems stretched too thin, in both directions. A great deal of the more complex verse is too quick and too complex - you can hear her struggling to finish each line before the next one swoops in. When she pares it down to a minimum, the opposite problem arises, with comical simplicity and empty repetition adding to the feel of an album half finished, ideas half-formed or simply regurgitated. I suspect the critical hype around Room 25 has more to do with critics missing the boat on Telefone, an indisputably superior work.

    Not to say that it's a bad album by any stretch. On the contrary, if this is your first Noname record I think you'll be utterly enamored. I personally think she's the greatest rapper going, with an ability to not only venture where her peers can't or won't, but also make that process seem inimitably cool. Everything is everything.    … Expand
  10. nevans
    Aug 21, 2019
    0
    0 bars and a very sloppily put together album. Not something you should waste your time with.
  11. lyekay1
    Sep 19, 2018
    6
    Nice word play but she talks and puts no effort into it, rap isn't talking it's about changing your tone & delivery I was quite bored throughout & once again this site got the ratings wrong. Not bad but nowhere near an 8 more effort next time.
  12. endtransmission
    Sep 20, 2018
    4
    Great production with someone that's not really rapping. It's more like spoken word, talk rap that's so unclear you have to crane your ears towards it to understand it and you can't get past a single verse without some sort of SJW-level political opinion. it's tired and critics are just terrified of saying anything negative about it. Politically: it's absolutely nothing new; it sounds likeGreat production with someone that's not really rapping. It's more like spoken word, talk rap that's so unclear you have to crane your ears towards it to understand it and you can't get past a single verse without some sort of SJW-level political opinion. it's tired and critics are just terrified of saying anything negative about it. Politically: it's absolutely nothing new; it sounds like a teenager's opinions. When she steers clear of base political/societal opinions and dissects little events in her life: that's when it's good.… Expand
  13. Edgar821
    Sep 25, 2018
    2
    I failed to find an answer when I asked myself if I will remember anything about this album when I finished listening to it.
  14. maxxing
    Sep 20, 2018
    10
    The album is dense. for noname, politically charged witticisms are a breeze. "I'm struggling to simmer down, maybe I'm an insomni-black/Bad sleep triggered by bad government/Write a think piece in a rap song,the new age covenant" (Track 2, Blaxploitation). "What's an eye for an eye when *****s won't love you back/And medicine's overtaxed, no name look like you/No name for privateThe album is dense. for noname, politically charged witticisms are a breeze. "I'm struggling to simmer down, maybe I'm an insomni-black/Bad sleep triggered by bad government/Write a think piece in a rap song,the new age covenant" (Track 2, Blaxploitation). "What's an eye for an eye when *****s won't love you back/And medicine's overtaxed, no name look like you/No name for private corporations to send emails to/'Cause when we walk into heaven, nobody's name gon' exist" (Track 11, no name). She can all just be flat out hilarious like on Montego Bae: "I know he eat me like I'm wifey, you know the hotel overpricey so he gonna f**k me like I'm Oprah." These lighter moments are contrasted by darker songs like "Don't Forget About Me," featuring a hook that will tear your heart to shreds, as well as a clever nod to the song's inspiration: "Somebody hit D'Angelo, I think I need him on this one." The production and Noname's flow make this record impossible to put down, and the dense bars make it fun to retread the same words over and over to find meaning or wordplay. I think it's one of the best rap albums of the year, more fleshed out then shorter rap projects this year like Ye and Whack World.… Expand
  15. dpaudiophile
    Sep 17, 2018
    5
    The beats are nice if you like the smooth jazz/neo-soul type ones, but there's really nothing groundbreaking.

    I find the lyrics bland and uninspiring for the most part, and as a whole I was bored more than I was entertained.

    Overrated pretension masquerading as art.

    Mediocre - 5.5/10
  16. Andremax
    Oct 30, 2018
    8
    A vast sound Library, nice at the same time, adding with Noname's interesting flow, even if her voice be at most acceptable and less interesting than the rest.
  17. nikoziko
    Sep 22, 2018
    10
    This album is amazing the production is more mature and much better then her first mixtape , noname's rapping is great she's got a lot of good verses all over this and she's got a great voice!!the features are all amazing here in conclusion i stan noname
  18. bannigeri17
    Sep 19, 2018
    10
    This album is an absolute essential, with crisp production and the purest of musicianship. On the instrumental front, few albums compare to the raw beauty here. This album is incredible when it comes to the music. But it's all about Noname, the funny, charismatic and tragic figure at the center of it all. Her soft spoken word and intimate delivery make this album truly one of the mostThis album is an absolute essential, with crisp production and the purest of musicianship. On the instrumental front, few albums compare to the raw beauty here. This album is incredible when it comes to the music. But it's all about Noname, the funny, charismatic and tragic figure at the center of it all. Her soft spoken word and intimate delivery make this album truly one of the most aesthetically pleasing albums of the year, if not the decade.… Expand
  19. thedaywalker
    Sep 30, 2018
    7
    Noname comes out with a one of a kind album.

    Her melodic voice fits in a the great smooth jazzy production. Her lyrics are on great letting us dive into her life, letting us know her with personal rhymes. The songs are direct and straight to the point, with no filler content every song holds on it's on story. Where she fails in delivery she makes up funny, personal and really good    Noname comes out with a one of a kind album.

    Her melodic voice fits in a the great smooth jazzy production. Her lyrics are on great letting us dive into her life, letting us know her with personal rhymes.

    The songs are direct and straight to the point, with no filler content every song holds on it's on story.

    Where she fails in delivery she makes up funny, personal and really good lyrics and rhyme schemes.

    Not something i was costumed to, when listening to rap, but really a good experience, definitely a good album.

    Favorite Tracks: Blaxploitation, Window, Ace, Part of me
    Least Favorite Tracks: Prayer Song, Regal    … Expand
  20. TheKuz
    Jan 3, 2019
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Noname returns with (mostly playful) vengeance: "Y'all really thought a **** couldn’t rap, huh?" Room 25 is Noname's answer to that inquiry, without getting caught up in spelling it out for the listener (though, I don't think anybody was doubting her pen-skills after Telefone, anyway). The minimalist-yet-memorable elements, production-wise, in each song allow the listener to get lost in Noname's world for each song-length—and her lyrics complete the journey. There is both atmosphere and lyricism in each song—a rare juggling task for many rap artists—and, as a whole, the songs still manage to all go together perfectly.

    Noname continues to write with purpose on Room 25. Her new experiences since Telefone come through beautifully, pain and pleasure alike. She remains a poet with the pen and an MC and lyricist on the mic.

    I have only the one complaint that I'm never quite ready for "With You" to end.    … Expand
  21. conorcd
    Jan 18, 2019
    9
    9/10
    In my original review I gave this album a 10/10, but after further listening, I have decided that it can sometimes be repetitive and lacks experimentation, like a lot of jazz rap. It is an amazing album, but not a perfect one. Everything I said in my review below is still true, but I still feel the album could improve in some ways.
    This was my original review: 10/10 When I first    9/10
    In my original review I gave this album a 10/10, but after further listening, I have decided that it can sometimes be repetitive and lacks experimentation, like a lot of jazz rap. It is an amazing album, but not a perfect one. Everything I said in my review below is still true, but I still feel the album could improve in some ways.

    This was my original review:
    10/10
    When I first listened to Telefone in 2016, it was immediately a favorite album of mine. It pulled me into neo-soul/rap, and ever since then I have listened to every bit of music from Noname's whole posse (ie. Saba, Smino, Ravyn Lenae). As much as I enjoyed Care for Me by Saba, I began to miss Noname's hypnotic voice and her distinct sound that originally attracted me to neo-soul/rap. Although I loved Telefone, it certainly was lacking a bit of depth and meaning. Even though Room 25 is just as short as Telefone, it is concise and has a strong and important message. It brings a unique and extraordinary sound to a genre that is otherwise only consistently good. Room 25 is a masterpiece. There is not a single bad track.    … Expand
  22. All_ButTrU4
    Feb 27, 2021
    10
    This is a record about maturity,love ,heartbreak and identity. It's looking back on your past the mistakes and accomplishments then regretting niether. Noname feels powerful in this record even when she's exploring her insecurity, lost love and vulnerability. A powerhouse, she returns with her similar (improved)jazz production and witty lyrics. The best example of a quintessential NonameThis is a record about maturity,love ,heartbreak and identity. It's looking back on your past the mistakes and accomplishments then regretting niether. Noname feels powerful in this record even when she's exploring her insecurity, lost love and vulnerability. A powerhouse, she returns with her similar (improved)jazz production and witty lyrics. The best example of a quintessential Noname song is the opener. In it she tells the story of herself through multiple narrators as she contemplates **** " then addresses the critique of her music style that isn't seen as actual rap. The entire track feels so confident and fun like a conversation with a best friend. One of the best moments in a rap album since the sequencing of TPAB is the 1,2,3 punch of self,blaxploitation&prayer song. Each song like most of the albums flow into each other almost seamlessly without being monotonous. Each song has an immediacy that avoids feeling rushed but rather feels as if she has something important to say ,says it and moves on. No need to make it more than it is already said to. This album feels, without being derivative ,as if "Lemonade by Beyoncé, Ctrl by SZA and good kid mad city " were thrown into a blender to make a smoothy of the identity of being black,female,black in America and telling a story without sacrificing the musicality. The record with it's grand message feels small in terms of length. It feels so ephemeral that repeated listens are guaranteed. And with them you discover more jokes,bars and production flourishes. The life mimics art proverb is true here as the longer u experience it the more you understand and the more nilhistic you become. This is pure brilliance. I knew rap could be this great I just never knew it would sound so peaceful. This is the lullaby that doesn't put u to sleep. It keeps u up at night. Whether you r laughing or crying depends on how you take it.
    Favourites:selfs,blaxploitation,regal,prayer song, part of me,don't forget about me,ace,with you, montego bae,no name,window(yes,i did just list the tracklist. That's because they r all favourites)    … Expand
  23. maxmkennedy
    Apr 22, 2019
    10
    dense rap that rewards the listener more with multiple listens. jam packed with clever lyricism. noname is a brilliant writer. she evokes many emotions and inspires me greatly.
  24. alandisnc
    Aug 28, 2021
    10
    So beautifully put together, the jazzy sound and mellowness of her vocals makes this album a chilling and exquisite experience. Loved this record
  25. Neshelie
    Aug 20, 2023
    3
    It's a below average album. It has nothing to stand out among the good examples of the genre. Still, it is highly listenable.

Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best Album of 2018
56
#56 Most Discussed Album of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
93

Universal acclaim - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. AllMusic
    Nov 26, 2018
    80
    Days after the album was released, she turned 27, yet she already sounds like a seasoned professional, and the immaculately crafted Room 25 is highly mature and immensely enjoyable. Simply remarkable.
    Read full review
  2. The Wire
    Oct 16, 2018
    100
    The biggest problem with Noname’s Room 25 is that the opening two tracks, adding up to barely four minutes of music, are just too damn good. ... The rest is merely exceptional. Essential. [Nov 2018, p.68]
  3. Austin Chronicle
    Oct 5, 2018
    89
    At just 35 minutes, she's now produced one of the tightest and most complete albums of 2018, while advancing philosophical wax on contextual freedoms of her black body.
    Read full review
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