Che Noir, a rapper and producer from Buffalo, NY, has made a name for herself with bold, unfiltered lyricism over gritty, mid-’90s East Coast-style beats. Inspired by legends like Foxy Brown, Jay-Z, and The Notorious B.I.G., she began making beats in high school and soon turned to rapping, developing a sharp, introspective style. By 2016, she had released her debut mixtape, Poetic Thoughts, and steadily built a reputation as a gifted storyteller in a genre where women are often underrepresented. Over the years, Che has worked with respected artists like Benny The Butcher, 38 Spesh, and Black Thought, further cementing her status as a formidable force in hip-hop. She has toured internationally, including performances in Germany, where she impressed audiences with her cutting lyricism and commanding stage presence. In 2022, she took full creative control, producing her own album, Food For Thought, as well as Jynx716’s EP Careful What You Wish For. She followed up with Poetic Sounds, a live EP, and The Last Remnants, which featured the standout track “Wash The Dishes” (feat. Benny The Butcher).
Buffalo rapper and producer Che Noir has just shared her new album The Color Chocolate 2 — out now via Perfect Time Music Group. The album arrives alongside an accompanying music video for “New Beginning”, which boasts a feature from Philadelphia R&B crooner Son Little. On “New Beginning”, Che Noir shares: “This is a song and beat I worked on about two years ago. I fell in love with the concept and correlated it to my own experiences of grief, as well as the hope of becoming a mother myself. I’m currently nine months pregnant, and by the time this is released to the world, I will be officially a mother, so now this song means even more to me and my current journey in life.” In addition to Son Little, The Color Chocolate 2 also includes features from former Slum Village member eLZhi, 7xvethegenius, and Evidence and arrives on the heels of recent singles “Blink Twice”, which was praised by BrooklynVegan, VIBE, and more, and “Who’s The Greatest?”, which garnered acclaim from Okayplayer. The album follows the release of two critically acclaimed projects within the past year, The Lotus Child and Seeds In Babylon. Noir’s lyricism remains rooted in introspective, conscious wordplay, bringing an immediate sense of connection to the project and the personal stories she weaves within her songs, which often detail the realities of life as a young Black woman in America.
Che Noir has quietly emerged as a powerful new voice within independent Hip-Hop, pairing thoughtful lyricism with a self-produced sound rooted in Soul. Since the release of her first project in 2016, Che Noir has built a name for herself as one of Buffalo’s premier wordsmiths through collaborations with artists like Benny The Butcher, 38 Spesh, and Black Thought. Fusing production that calls to mind the grimy sonics of the Griselda crew with her unmistakable, reflective lyricism, she’s quickly become a staple within the city’s booming music scene. Her 2022 release Food For Thought marked her first fully self-produced project — a direction she’s continued with 2023’s The Last Remnants and 2024’s The Lotus Child, steadily carving out a lane that’s entirely her own. Balancing personal storytelling with astute, sharp technical skill, her work has earned recognition from peers and press alike. As Rolling Stone noted in a recent interview, “Che has been gradually plugging along on a catalog that can compete with just about anyone who debuted over the past decade.” With The Color Chocolate 2 she continues to refine her sound on her own terms, bridging East Coast sensibilities with a deeply personal, uncompromising point of view.
With a growing catalog and an uncompromising artistic vision, Che Noir continues to push boundaries in hip-hop.
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