- NovA
- About
Who is NovA?
NovA is a rapper, songwriter and producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a lyricist in the old sense of the word, whose 2025 concept album Dark Was The Night tells one life in 25 tracks.
Biography
NovA started writing rhymes at 14. His first time on a stage came even earlier, playing trumpet in his school band, and the records in the house were the ones that still show in his writing: 2Pac, JAY-Z and Lauryn Hill. From them he took the idea that a verse should be technically sharp and mean something, and that an album can carry a story.
His earlier album, The New Black, was built on experimentation: genre-bending, trying things. Its release party remains one of the moments he points to as a career highlight. He describes the follow-up as the perfection of that approach: keep the range, but put every choice in service of a single narrative.
That follow-up is Dark Was The Night, released February 28, 2025. It is a cinematic concept album about a young man who witnesses his father’s murder as a boy, grows up hard in Philadelphia, finds a love that looks like a way out, and is undone by her betrayal. NovA spent two years on it, obsessing, by his own admission, over lyrics, pacing, the features and even the ad-libs, until it held together as a film you listen to. Styles P of The LOX appears on “Hell On Earth”, Philly’s own Freeway on “Marvel”, and Dev Hoc on “Sweet”.
He usually starts from the beat, letting the production pull the words out, and works with producers around the world over the internet. Asked which track best represents where he is now, he names “Hell On Earth”, both for the honor of trading verses with Styles P (“his penmanship is impeccable”) and for the balance it strikes between technical lyricism and meaning. “Oh God, Good Lord” is the other verse he singles out.
The ambition is stated plainly: he wants Dark Was The Night to be remembered as the point where “the first great underground hip-hop classic of the 2020s was created.” The dream stage is the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, or Madison Square Garden.
At a glance
Where is NovA from?
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He records as NovA (sometimes written “NovA of Philly”) and uses the handles @novaishiphop on X and YouTube and @novaofphilly on Instagram and Facebook.
What kind of music does NovA make?
Lyric-driven hip-hop rooted in Philadelphia’s hardcore tradition, with R&B-influenced records when the story calls for them. Critics have called Dark Was The Night “a masterclass in storytelling.”
What albums has NovA released?
The New Black and, on February 28, 2025, Dark Was The Night. Singles include “Pocket Rocket”, “Package”, “Yeah Yeah Yeah” (2022), “Hell On Earth” feat. Styles P (2024), “If You Let Me” and “Marvel” feat. Freeway (2025). See the music page.
Who has NovA worked with?
Styles P (The LOX), Freeway (State Property) and Dev Hoc all feature on Dark Was The Night.