After an ongoing feud, rapper and poet Noname took to Twitter to address a fallout between her and J. Cole.
“no. j cole was upset because i tweeted about rappers who profit off blackness while simultaneously being silent when it comes to black death. he was angered by the “tone” of a tweet that didn’t even specifically name him,” she wrote in a tweet.
no. j cole was upset because i tweeted about rappers who profit off blackness while simultaneously being silent when it comes to black death. he was angered by the “tone” of a tweet that didn’t even specifically name him. https://t.co/uws9QNMftd
— ???? (@noname) April 30, 2021
Noname, born Fatimah Nyeema Warner, was responding to a prior tweet where she mentioned that she was “no longer interested in proving myself to an internet that will cannibalize the vulnerability of those who choose to publicly learn,” after a follower criticized her for being open-minded in regards to politics.
The follower replied to her tweet, saying that Dreamville rapper "literally tried to make that same point to you almost 2 years ago lol."
i’m no longer interested in proving myself to an internet that will cannibalize the vulnerability of those who choose to publicly learn. it’s cop shit. i’m interested in what my community calls me. twitter is not my community ???? https://t.co/oHk1lBOnUf
— ???? (@noname) April 30, 2021
The J.Cole/Noname feud originated last year when Cole released his song “Snow On Tha Bluff,” which addressed the racial and political strife that appeared on a global front during summer 2020. The song also referred to Cole feeling as though he hadn't been vocal enough in regards to police brutality.
Throughout the single, he appears to drag an anonymous woman for her “queen tone,” and being “mad at celebrities.”
“She mad at the celebrities, low-key I be thinkin’ she talkin’ ‘bout me / Now I ain’t no dummy to think I’m above criticism / So when I see something that’s valid, I listen / But shit, it’s something about the queen tone that’s botherin’ me,” he rapped.
Some listeners suspected that the song was a dig at the 29-year-old Chicago native who had scrutinized big-time rappers for not speaking up about Black Lives Matter issues.
In a series of follow-up tweets to address the suspicion, Cole said that the song was “honest” and he stands by the lyrics. He then honorably mentioned Noname for her activism and taking the time to educate herself, encouraging his followers to do the same.
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
Despite the public address, Noname followed up with the release of “Song 33,” which is believed to be a diss track to Cole’s “Snow On Tha Bluff.”
“I guess the ego hurt now/It’s time to go to work wow/Look at him go/He really about to write about me when the world is in smokes?” she rapped.
After both songs were released, Noname later apologized for responding to Cole’s tweets with her single.
“i’ve been thinking a lot about it and i am not proud of myself for responding with song 33,” she wrote on Twitter. “i tried to use it as a moment to draw attention back to the issues i care about but i didn’t have to respond. my ego got the best of me. i apologise for any further distraction this caused.”
J. Cole is set to release his highly anticipated sixth studio album, The Off-Season, on Friday.
