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. 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 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 Blue Sky Black Death (abbreviated BSBD) was a production duo based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It consisted of Ryan Maguire, better known by his stage name Kingston, and Ian Taggart, better known by his stage name Young God, or, later, Televa ...

). In the early 2000s the Plague Language label released music from artists such as Baracuda, Livestock,

Orko the Sycotik Alien David Wali Rahmaan Ebn Hassan Bullard, better known by his stage name Orko Eloheim (formerly Orko the Sycotik Alien) (born 1975/1976) is an American alternative hip hop artist from San Diego, California. He is also one half of the duo Nephlim Mo ...

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 projects 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, Josh Martinez, K-the-I???, Sole, Jim Guthrie, Myka 9, Ceschi, Awol One, Liz Powell of Land of Talk, Ghettosocks, Kingpin Skinny Pimp, Gregory Pepper, and Buck 65. He has performed with Kool Keith, Busdriver,

Subtitle Subtitles and captions are lines of dialogue or other text displayed at the bottom of the screen in films, television programs, video games or other visual media. They can be transcriptions of the screenplay, translations of it, or informati ...

, Islands, Matisyahu, and many more, including Astronautalis, Clouddead, Eternia, Grand Buffet, Radioinactive,

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 Shou ...

, Plastic Little, Modulok, TheSaurus, Shabba D, DJ Scientist, Krinjah,

Shad The Alosinae, or the shads,Alosinae

, and Swollen Members. 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 on December 21, 2012. On February 10, 2013, Noah23 released the EP ''Tropical Fruit'', featuring production by Pictureplane. 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. 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 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-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", " boom bap"-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, MF DOOM and Organized Konfusion. 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".

Selected discography

Noah23 :* ''Plague Language'' (1999) e-released as ''Cytoplasm Pixel'' (Plague Language, 2006)/small> :* ''

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 This article summarizes the events, ...

'' (Plague Language, 2001) :* '' Quicksand'' (Plague Language, 2002) :* ''Tau Ceti'' (Legendary Entertainment, 2002) :* ''Mitochondrial Blues'' (Legendary Entertainment, 2004) :* ''Sigma Octantis'' (Legendary Entertainment, 2004) :* ''

'' (2nd Rec, 2004) :* ''Clout'' (Legendary Entertainment, 2006) :* ''Cameo Therapy'' (Legendary Entertainment, 2007) :* '' Rock Paper Scissors'' (Legendary Entertainment, 2008) :* ''Upside Down Bluejay'' (Plague Language, 2008) :* ''Crab Nebula'' (Plague Language, 2009) (with Madadam) :* ''

Fry Cook on Venus ''Fry Cook on Venus'' is a 2011 studio album by Canadian hip hop artist Noah23, released on Fake Four Inc. Music videos were produced for "Bright Green Laces" and "Intangible Heart Crescendo". Critical reception Vish Khanna of ''Exclaim!'' gave ...

'' (

Fake Four Inc. Fake Four is an independent record label based in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded by brothers Ceschi and David Ramos in 2008. According to an interview with Ceschi on Ugsmag.com, the Ramos brothers started Fake Four with help from Grimm ...

, 2011) :* ''Super Yukes 5000'' (Plague Language, 2011) (as Yukon Dawn) :* ''Vision & Voice'' (Plague Language, 2011) :* ''Wingfoot'' (Plague Language, 2012) :* ''Lotus Deities'' (Plague Language, 2013) :* ''Occult Trill III: Blast Master Therion'' (Plague Language, 2013) :* ''Light Years'' (Plague Language, 2014) (with David Klopek) :* ''Street Astrology'' (Plague Language, 2014) :* ''Noah23 x Blown'' (Candy Drips, 2015) (with Blown) :* ''Peacock Angel'' (Plague Language, 2015) :* ''Aquarian Alien'' (Plague Language, 2015) :* ''Oracle'' (Plague Language, 2016) :* ''Discordian Pope'' (Plague Language, 2016) (with DJ Coutz) :* ''Parts Unknown'' (Plague Language, 2016) :* ''Hope Knot'' (Plague Language, 2017) (with DJ Wardove) CRUNK23 (Noah23 with Crunk Chris) :* ''Technoshamanism'' (Legendary Entertainment, 2006) :* ''Dirty Bling'' (Legendary Entertainment, 2008) :* ''Spare Ribs for the Eve of Destruction'' (Legendary Entertainment, 2009) :* ''Illegal Ideas Inc.'' (Legendary Entertainment, 2011) :* ''Year of the Monkey'' (Legendary Entertainment, 2016) Other collaborations :* ''The Train Rawbers'' (Plague Language, 2004) (with Homesick & Livestock, 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)

References

External links

Noah23
on tumblr
Noah23
on Rate Your Music
Noah23
on Discogs {{DEFAULTSORT:Noah23 Canadian male rappers 20th-century Canadian rappers Underground rappers Living people 1978 births Musicians from Guelph People from Natchez, Mississippi 21st-century Canadian rappers 20th-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian male musicians