Within the span of four hours, Foellinger Auditorium was transformed from a typical lecture hall to an electric venue for Chicago-based rapper Noname’s concert Friday. As dedicated fans chanted her name before the show and danced in the front rows, it was hard to imagine that only a couple hours prior to the show students had been quietly taking notes in the seats lining the auditorium.

The concert featured songs from her debut mixtape, “Telefone,” which was released in July 2016. The first song of the night, “All I Need,” set the mood for the rest of the show.

As she strutted around the stage, occasionally making eye contact and smiling at lucky fans in the crowd, it was easy to tell she was having a good time. Songs like “Sunny Duet” and “Diddy Bop” kept the good mood up and the crowd didn’t need to be encouraged to snap along.

Alexa Hirsch, junior in Engineering, started listening to Noname after she saw her perform on Saturday Night Live with Chance the Rapper. Hirsch soon introduced Noname to her friend, Jake Stone, senior in LAS. The two enjoyed the music and vibe of the show, but the highlight for them was, in Hirsch’s words, “every time she smiles.”

“Honestly though, her smile is so contagious,” Stone said. “She always had me smiling when she was. That was my favorite part.”

All smiles, and dressed in a black T-shirt and plaid green skirt, Noname didn’t fit the stereotypical look of a rapper. She commanded the stage, but kept a relaxed atmosphere, flowing from one song to the next with ease. Her sound was pure, clean and something about seeing her perform live made it even more enchanting.

Toward the end, particularly with her song “Bye Bye Baby,” her songs took a more melancholic turn, bringing the mood down a bit.

She ended with the fan-favorite “Yesterday,” having the audience repeat and fade out the chorus without any accompaniment, creating a really beautiful, almost haunting, moment.

Focused on her background and time growing up in Chicago, Noname’s music is real, meaningful and relatable for a lot of fans.

Especially considering the number of students at the University who are from Chicago. It wasn’t surprising then, that when she asked the crowd if anyone was from Chicago, hundreds of hands shot up.

CJ Seymour, sophomore in Media, started listening to Noname about a year ago because of recommendations by their friends from Chicago. Seymour, who is better known by their stage name, CJ Run, is an up-and-coming rapper who opened for Noname’s concert.

“I’ve been listening to (Noname) for about as long as I’ve been in the state,” Seymour said. “I feel like I’ve never heard anyone like her. When I first listened to her, I remember the quality of her voice was very distinct. When you play a Noname song, you know it’s her.”

After they received the opportunity to open for Noname, Seymour was “ecstatic,” and this mood was evident in their performance. With bright yellow lights illuminating the stage, the rapper started off the set on a high note with a song off of their EP “ForgetMeNot,” “Return to Sender.” Other songs included singles like “Pity the Plight” and “G for Go,” which can be found on their SoundCloud account.

From house shows to the Canopy Club, CJ Run has become a common name in the Champaign-Urbana area. Recently, they released “ForgetMeNot” on Spotify, and have been quickly rising in popularity and evolving as a performer.

“For an independent artist to put music on iTunes and Spotify, there’s no money in it streaming-wise, but it’s definitely gotten people into the habit of listening to my music a lot more,” Seymour said.

The dynamic of the Friday performance was different, and those who have seen CJ Run perform at house shows could see the change. Whereas smaller shows are typically more focused on fun and excitement, this show was more polished and clean.

That doesn’t mean that it was any less enjoyable — if anything, it was even more impressive.

Seymour knew how to work the crowd, and their personality came through throughout the set. Like in Noname’s performance, it was easy to tell how much they enjoy performing. Seymour comes to life on the stage and that is what really lets the audience have a good time.

Seymour is working on expanding as an artist, and performed a new song, “We Don’t Rave No More,” at the show. Currently, they are developing a mystery project and hope to spread outside of the Champaign-Urbana area, citing sets in Chicago as the next goal.

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