Noah Guy Releases WHOS’ TAKEN THE TIME?! (Part I) and Video for “STOP BANGIN’ MY LINE”

Q&AMusic

Nov 14

☆ By Alex LaBrec ☆

SINCE 2019–Noah Guy has been banging out tracks that he defines as “retro futuristic,” their roots tied into legendary musicians like Lauryn Hill, Mos Def, and MoTown classics, but their sound keeping in step with modern artists like Dominic Fike and Omar Apollo. One of his latest releases, “2 Dogs 1 Leash,” has already racked up over 1.7 million streams on Spotify. It’s a promising precursor for an artist who is still standing at the cusp of his music career, his first EP WHO’S TAKEN TIME?! (ACT I) just released Friday.

He describes the newest project as a culmination of the journey he’s been on as an artist who only recently committed to making his passion into a real career. Growing up in Philadelphia, he remembers feeling like a lot of his life and the lives of everyone around him feeling stuck in this sort of cycle of what should be done. When he and his brother saved up money from a lemonade stand to buy their first CD– none other than Mos Def’s Ecstatic, of course– it wasn’t a sign of a passion that he could pursue professionally. Instead, he’d listen to his Dad’s MoTown Hits CD or climb down music rabbit holes with his older brother and see the art as something he was only “meant to consume, never to create,” he explained.

It took until his freshman year of college for the realization to finally hit. “I just got out of a nasty relationship and was shortly after diagnosed with a chronic illness. I needed something to grab onto.” So he snagged his dad’s guitar and started writing. “The rest is history,” he laughed, “I caught the bug quick.”

Soon after, he left his small liberal arts school in Philadelphia and transferred to NYU, where he majored in film production. There, he was able to be more creative under the guise of sticking on the “right” path by staying in school. “I was really just kinda going to school to say I was going to school,” he admitted. He was taking night classes so he could work on songwriting, connect with producers, and eventually even sign with Brooklyn’s Fools Gold during the day. When he released his first few tracks and realized music could really be something he could do with his life, without any excuses, he took the final plunge and moved out to LA on a leave of absence. He hasn’t been back to school since.

Since 2020, he’s been collaborating with more artists to help discover what “the whole Noah Guy Thing is.” This phrase was something he’d casually throw out when referring to himself–air quoting and saying “this Noah Guy thing,” any time he started to explain his musical journey. After our conversation, though, it was clear it wasn’t because he didn’t take himself seriously. Rather, he was acutely aware of how fluid his identity as an artist has been up to this point. “In the beginning, I was trying to do everything,” he said. The instruments, songwriting, singing, and production– they were all things he wanted to have his hands in. Now, with WHOS’ TAKEN THE TIME?! He feels like he’s finally gotten the “Noah Guy Thing” down. “A lot of stuff before this [EP] is tinkering figuring out what my voice could be. Part I is finding that and building off those pillars that I have built.”

The new EP consists of five tracks that feed into the retro futuristic soul music that Noah has already become known for. However, the listener can hear his evolution as an artist through the way his creative choices have matured. This key difference, he explained, had a lot to do with his own trust ion the talent he has had the privilege to collaborate with since moving out to LA. “I was trying to do everything in the beginning. But I found a lot of beautiful creativity from letting people do it who are great at what they do.” It’s how he landed upon a collaboration with New Orleans Gospel choir in one of his favorite tracks off the EP, “SMALL TALK CAROLINA.” The track is a dive into something wholly soulful but with a surprising mixture of upbeat strings, synthetic production, and spiritual choir vocals that lift this entire project to a level higher than Noah has reached before. “Working with a talented saxophonist, adding New Orleans Gospel Choir, and working with such incredible people…the way this EP changed and challenged me…that whole journey changed me,” he reflected.

To pair alongside his new project he’s also put out a video for “STOP BANGIN’ MY LINE,” a visual representation of that feeling he first experienced when he moved out to LA, when old friends, record labels, and other artists feel like they’re pulling you in every direction just to get something out of you. Once again, the video aims to show an evolution in Noah Guy as a budding musician. The faces of everyone fighting for a piece of him are pixelated–a metaphor for the way all of this conflict was less about everyone else and more about the war going on inside his own head. When struggling to fight for a place in the industry and hold onto his creative voice, it was a feeling he eventually came to realize was “work that needs to be done for you, for yourself.”

And Noah Guy has certainly been putting in the work, and showing no signs of stopping. After the release of both the project and video Friday, he’s still looking forward to what’s coming in the next year. Part II to WHOS’ TAKEN THE TIME?! he’s hoping to release at the front end of next year. After that, he’s confident that he’ll be ready to kick off a national tour.

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We couldn’t be more stoked to have Suriel Hess as our new headliner for our upcoming LA show 🤩 🫶 Not gonna lie, us & Notorious Noise kinda went OFF with this line up & you’re not gonna wanna miss it - ticket link in bio 🎫