The Chicago rapper Noname, a disciple of spoken word and Def Poetry Jam, has nimble wordplay and a warm, unruffled voice that work even better over beats. After appearing as a guest on Chance the Rapper’s two breakthrough mixtapes, she released her own debut project, “Telefone,” as a free download last summer, blending what she has referred to as sunny Los Angeles instrumentation and grim Chicago subject matter. “Too many babies in suits,” Noname raps over the cooing of a child on “Casket Pretty,” about her city’s plague of gun violence. But there is hope in the music, too, and in her onstage demeanor, best exemplified by a “Saturday Night Live” cameo alongside Chance in December; an unsigned rapper gliding onto the national television stage, Noname gave a master class in poise, delivery and self-assuredness. (Thursday, March 2, at Le Poisson Rouge; 212-505-3474, lpr.com)