Noname Responds to J. Cole on 'Song 33'
Noname breaks her silence.
Earlier this week, J. Cole released his controversial track “Snow on Tha Bluff” on which he addressed Noname and the discourse surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement. But the song was criticized for being misogynistic and dismissive of Noname’s fight for justice.
On Thursday, the Chicago rapper responded with the Madlib-produced “Song 33” where she confronts Cole for targeting her when Black men and women are dying.
“One girl missing another one go missing / One girl missing another / But ni**as in the back quiet as a church mouse, basement studio when duty calls to get the verse out,” she raps.
“I guess the ego hurt now / It’s time to go to work / Wow, look at him go,” she continues. “He really ’bout to write about me when the world is in smokes? / When it’s people in trees? / When George begging for his mother saying he couldn’t breathe, you thought to write about me?”
“Little did I know all my reading would be a bother / It’s trans women being murdered and this is all he can offer? / And this is what y’all receive? / Distracting you from the convo wit organizers.”
The 70-second track ends with a declaration: “This the new vanguard / I’m the new vanguard.”
— Noname (@noname) June 18, 2020
Following the backlash, Cole addressed his critics. “Right or wrong I can’t say, but I can say it was honest,” he tweeted, while encouraging a dialogue. “It’s not my job to tell anybody what to think or feel about the work. I accept all conversation and criticisms.”
He also applauded Noname’s activism efforts. “I love and honor her as a leader in these times,” he added. “She has done and is doing the reading and the listening and the learning on the path that she truly believes is the correct one for our people. Meanwhile a ni**a like me just be rapping.”
Upon the release of “Song 33,” Cole showed his support by tweeting out the link.
Right or wrong I can’t say, but I can say it was honest.
— J. Cole (@JColeNC) June 17, 2020
Follow @noname . I love and honor her as a leader in these times. She has done and is doing the reading and the listening and the learning on the path that she truly believes is the correct one for our people. Meanwhile a nigga like me just be rapping.
— J. Cole (@JColeNC) June 17, 2020
— J. Cole (@JColeNC) June 18, 2020