This is an extension of their unseen labor. Black women have always shown up to support the men in the revolution despite being left out of the conversation and spotlight. Noname pointing out that celebrities like Cole should do more to support the cause - given that he’s rapped about the very issues he is ignoring - is not a callout or shaming. It is difficult and emotionally draining work that we get no credit for doing.
We shouldn’t have to spend our time and energy doing this, but it is what the world - and now Cole - asks of us. The onus of educating others is consistently thrust upon Black women, who feel a responsibility to teach non-Black people about racism, while also informing Black men about the combined racism and sexism Black women face, also known as misogynoir. His demand is not only rooted in an unwillingness to learn by himself, but it also comes with the expectation that a Black woman should perform the invisible labor of teaching him. She has never shied away from expressing her views on the intersection between capitalism and racism on Twitter.īut it is not her job to help Cole learn - nor should it be - which is why his ask is a problem. She has considered stopping her live performances out of frustration that her message of resistance was getting lost on white crowds. She has a book club devoted to reading radical Black authors. Noname would be the perfect person to bestow her wealth of information onto J. This plea to help him learn seems innocent on the surface.
He then raps, “Instead of conveying you holier, come help get us up to speed.”
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In the song, Cole denounces Noname’s “queen tone” and takes issue with how she addressed his inaction: “Just 'cause you woke and I'm not, that shit ain't no reason to talk like you better than me.” But then he admits to feeling faker than the 2012 movie Snow on tha Bluff, a drama that appeared to be real due to its documentary style. Vulture staffer Zoe Haylock wrote that Cole refuses to own up to his insecurities and “spends over half of the song dragging an unnamed woman many assumed to be Noname.” Rapper Earl Sweatshirt tweeted the song was “corny” and “tasted bad.” Rapper Kari Faux also chimed in, tweeting that Cole “could’ve read a whole book” instead of releasing the bitter track. Presumably, Cole’s song - which immediately garnered widespread criticism - was in response to that tweet. niggas whole discographies be about black plight and they no where to be found.” The Chicago rapper has been vocal on social media about Black liberation for years, and she recently decried the lack of support from prominent rappers in the wake of the protests following George Floyd’s killing in a since-deleted tweet: “poor black folks all over the country are putting their bodies on the line in protest for our collective safety and y’all favorite top selling rappers not even willing to put a tweet up. Clocking in at almost four minutes, the emotionally charged confessional makes pointed jabs at a woman who he all but confirmed is fellow rapper and activist Noname. On the spacey, downcast track, the North Carolina musician is finally entering the Black Lives Matter discourse to address some of the blowback he and other celebrities have received regarding their silence on the movement. Cole raps over muted melodies on his new song, “Snow on tha Bluff,” his surprise single that he dropped on Tuesday night. And I appreciate her and others like her because they challenge my beliefs and I feel that in these times that's important.“She mad at these crackers, she mad at these capitalists, mad at these murder police / She mad at my niggas, she mad at our ignorance, she wear her heart on her sleeve / She mad at the celebrities, low-key I be thinkin' she talkin' 'bout me,” J. "I haven't done a lot of reading and I don't feel well equipped as a leader in these times," he wrote. Meanwhile a n- like me just be rapping." -J. 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. I love and honor her as a leader in these times. But," he continued in the Twitter thread, "Let me use this moment to say this." I accept all conversation and criticisms. "That's fine with me, it's not my job to tell anybody what to think or feel about the work. "Some assume to know who the song is about," he continued. "Right or wrong I can't say, but I can say it was honest." I stand behind every word of the song that dropped last night," he wrote. Noname JCole confirmed this speculation on Wednesday morning when he doubled down on the lyrics and gave Noname an explicit shout-out