no god. Interview: Paving a Future Through Music

(Credit: Secret Scriptures)

Hip hop comes in many forms. For some, it’s the soundtrack to a packed club; for others, it’s an opportunity to turn your struggles into rhymes people will recite for generations. But whether it’s trap or boom bap, drill or rage, one throughline connects every avenue of hip hop: the pursuit of artistic expression.

With his solo debut, Wavelength, Canadian rapper Noah Godbout (known professionally as no god.) is stretching the expressive nature of rap music to its limit. An album dedicated to his personal growth, maturation, and ever-evolving outlook on life, Wavelength is a testament to the creative and cathartic potential of hip hop.

For years, no god. has spread his name through the rap underground as part of NODUO, a group effort with fellow Canadian MC Nonazz. The pair released the albums NODUO and Harvest Moon in 2023, and Nonazz has went on to deliver multiple solo projects since. But while his partner-in-rhyme is well versed in working alone, Wavelength is the first time no god. has held the reins himself.

At first, writing alone proved a challenge for the rapper. “Anyone will tell you how much easier it is to write a song when you only need to do half the work because someone else will fill in the rest, so it was definitely an adjustment,” no god. said. “I feel like I’ve always had strong instincts when it comes to figuring out what feels right when writing, structuring, and organizing a song, I just needed to work on it, and I got the hang of it fairly quickly.”

However, it was not long before the art of creating alone felt natural. “Some of the strongest hooks on the album, like ‘Lost’, ‘Drain’, and ‘Divinity (Take Time)’ were some of the first I had written. The tougher part after that was figuring out how many verses, or how long the song needed to be, to fully execute and flesh out my ideas, but I trusted my instincts with that as well and I’m more than satisfied with how each song turned out.”

Through his previous work, no god. has made a name for himself as a conscious MC, using music as a platform to express his thoughts through rhyme and as a tool to better himself. With Wavelength, that conscious spirit is more evident than ever. The rapper spoke on how hip hop compels him to open up on the mic:

“That feeling of vulnerability and openness really just comes from me learning to live with myself and putting that understanding and acceptance into words. I’ve spent a lot of my life putting so much stock into my expectations of how things should be instead of accepting the reality of situations, and I feel that creating music is a way for me to acknowledge that reality on my own terms … I believe the catharsis in my work comes from acceptance, and the only way to achieve that is through being open and honest with myself.”

Rather than cater to any demographic or algorithm, Wavelength is an unapologetic expression of the self. “My art is an extension of me, all my thoughts, beliefs, experiences, and it wouldn’t feel right to express ideas that don’t come from a genuine place.”

Wavelength came together in a crucial time in the MC’s life. Entering his early twenties and moving on from past relationships, the album almost acts as a soundtrack to the rapper’s ever-evolving circumstances. He said: “I started working on this album about half a year after a pretty rough breakup - I actually wrote most of Harvest Moon as that relationship was falling apart and the tone of that album reflects how much of a pessimistic wreck I was at the time - and I knew I had to dive deep and unpack not only what I went through during that relationship, but a lot of the bad habits I’ve picked up since I was a kid.”

On Wavelength, no god. does just that. More than a reflection of his recent history, the rapper looks back on his entire life, picking out his worst traits and lowest moments to reflect and grow from. “I set out to acknowledge how much I’ve grown and changed, and how much growth I still had ahead of me to become the person I hope to be. I felt that using the lens of masculinity and my relationship with that concept as a man would be the driving force behind the narrative for my growth on this album, as my relationship with it has consistently changed and grown as I’ve gotten older.”

Like many works in the conscious hip hop scene, Wavelength gets deeply personal, but the writing process was not as seamless as his rhymes might suggest. “I had to really allow myself to get comfortable with putting some of my most vulnerable and embarrassing thoughts, feelings, and experiences out there … I barely had to do any edits afterwards on those tracks because I knew exactly what I wanted to say, how I wanted to say it, and let my feelings and instincts guide me as I wrote everything down.”

While the LP covers a range of subjects, above all else, it serves as a reflection of who no god. is, who he was, and who he hopes to be. “My adolescent years were very turbulent, I hit a lot of low points that I struggled to work through but I’m glad I went through those experiences because I’ve matured so much and I’ve become a more compassionate, understanding human being,” he said. “This album serves as a reminder of who I’ve become and where I’ve come from, and I feel it represents how I want to remember the first 20 years of my life. It also reflects who I want to become and where I want to go.”

Although Wavelength only took half a year to put together, it was not the rapper’s first attempt at a debut album. In our last conversation, no god. hinted at Clouded, his solo debut produced entirely by klwn cat. Although fans may never hear that unreleased material, the MC looks back on Clouded as a valuable learning experience.

“I knew deep down I needed more time to develop as an artist,” he said. “The final straw was my laptop breaking around the time of the Clouded deadline, which really sealed it for me. Shoutout to klwn cat for being very patient with me and understanding at the time, we still laugh about it sometimes.”

After leaving Clouded behind, the resulting aftermath laid the foundations for what would eventually become Wavelength. “I remember calling B1g Z about it in a panicked state because I had no idea what I’d do instead … I think I just needed some reassurance that Clouded not working out wasn’t the end of the world and I’m grateful he did, because I had an epiphany that same day and knew what I wanted to do … I didn’t end up using anything from Clouded, but it was a very valuable experience that showed me what worked and what didn’t, going into the creation of Wavelength.”

Beyond helping no god. get back on track to create, B1g Z was a crucial creative force in the making of Wavelength. Although the album features few guest verses, behind the scenes, the MC had a host of friends helping put together the project. “Having Z’s input on the album was really essential because I filtered all my ideas through him and he gave me very honest feedback when ideas needed refinement or redirection, and he also gave me the encouragement and support I needed in order to go all in on my ideas.”

Other influential voices in the making of Wavelength included producers Āthmaan and Mashoni. “Āthmaan put up with all my most wild and likely annoying requests while mixing and mastering the album, and he was also someone I filtered a lot of ideas through … He’s the reason the album sounds as polished as it does while still giving it just enough grit to keep it from sounding overproduced … Mashoni is such a special producer who gave me four completely different yet equally great beats on four of the most crucial songs on the album. He really believed in everything I had to say on this album and gave me the perfect soundscapes to pull off each respective vibe I was looking for.”

(Credit: Secret Scriptures)

Other artists who helped out include Nonazz, Jackson, and crimzon merlot. But despite the number of voices involved in the project, Wavelength remains a deeply personal effort from no god., and an experience that will shape his artistry into the future. He said:

“All the thought and work I put in, all the raw honesty, and all the decisions I made along the way paid off into a project I’m very proud of, and it has set the standard for how I approach music moving forward … I was unsure how certain men would feel about an album that challenges commonly accepted notions and normalized views of masculinity, however it seems to have gone over really well and a lot more people than I would’ve ever expected have reached out telling me how moved they were.”

Moving forward, while NODUO takes a backseat to the pair’s solo endeavours, no god. is determined to build his catalogue as an independent MC. “I’m in the early stages of creating my second album that’ll be fully produced by Mashoni, it might be a while before that comes out, but I plan to drop some smaller projects in the meantime. Z and I are nearly finished making a collaborative EP where we’re both rapping, featuring production from him and some good friends that’ll drop later on in the year.”

Whether his next effort comes within the next few months or a year from now, no god. is certain that more music is on the way. After the tumultuous creation of Wavelength, the rapper is determined to take his time to deliver a project truly worth the wait.

Find no god. here.