This is the latest & 4th studio LP from Buffalo, New York emcee/producer Che Noir. Discovering her after 38 Spesh signed Che to TCF Music Group & fully produced her first 3 EPs, her Apollo Brown-produced full-length debut As God Intended & then her self-produced 4th EP After 12 during the 2nd half of 2020 was where her potential began to blossom exponentially. She has since followed this up with the sophomore effort Food for Thought as well as The Last Remnants, the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced Noir or Never, The Color Chocolate, The Lotus Child, the Superior-produced Seeds of Babylon, The Color Chocolate 2 & No Validation. Coming off Desired Crowns with 7xvethegenius merely 11 months ago, she’s finally putting out It Takes a Village.
After the “Unity of Thought” intro, “This Morning” kicks things off with this bright opener recalling the summer mornings riding around her city whereas “Grandma’s Cookies” embraces a drumlessly jazzier vibe instrumentally talking about her life not being for the weak. “Urban Essence” featuring The Uce & produced by Havoc admits to having issues in their lives going deeper beyond paying bills just before “A Caged Mockingbird” talks about being unable to head count the people around her she has left.
Black Thought appears on “Fame & Fiction” so they can make distinct separations between the 2 over a Mathematics beat while “Conductor’s Interlude” feels more like a 2 minute freestyle on top of a Conductor Williams instrumental. “Blood Bath” continues the 2nd half of the album maintaining the hardcore vibes lyrically leading into “My Village” bringing Nottz behind the boards to chop up a soul sample & have Che talking about hopes of making her mother proud.
“Olive Branches” featuring Jynx716 finds the pair talking about knowing 2 ways to make money & continuing to enjoy both methods while “Wasted Time” featuring Ransom gets conscious together over a soulful Conductor instrumental. “Magic” featuring Bruiser Wolf ends It Takes a Village with a chipmunk soul flare to the Chuck Strangers beat prior to a switch up distancing themselves than talking about their own issues.
Assembling a group of collaborators to match the title & its ambition, It Takes a Village will certainly rank amongst the most personal music in Che Noir’s discography although it’s not one of my favorites. The production side of things really picks up close to the midway point of it, but the themes of transitioning into motherhood gets an honest exploration from the support systems to the sacrifices & the community it takes to build a life & a career simultaneously.
Score: 7/10