Chicago rapper and activist Noname (Fatimah Warner) has followed up with some thoughts on her “Song 33” single. She she dropped the song in response to J. Cole “Snow on tha Bluff” single, widely viewed as criticizing Noname’s strident approach to activism.
i’ve been thinking a lot about it and i am not proud of myself for responding with song 33. 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 apologize for any further distraction this caused
— Noname (@noname) June 21, 2020
Attributing the decision to her ego taking over, she wrote on Twitter, “i’ve been thinking a lot about it and i am not proud of myself for responding with song 33. 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 apologize for any further distraction this caused.”
Referencing Madlib who produced the song’s beat she added, “madlib killed that beat and i see there’s a lot of people that resonate with the words so i’m leaving it up but i’ll be donating my portion of the songs earnings to various mutual aid funds. black radical unity”
It’s assumed J. Cole’s song was a response to a Noname tweet criticizing rappers choosing to say silent in the midst of global demonstrations protesting police brutality. Cole said the song wasn’t necessarily about Noname but recommended people follow her. She wrote, “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.”
As well, when she dropped “Song 33,” he retweeted it.
Check out “Song 33” below along with J. Cole’s single “Snow on the Bluff.”
