Last week, Noname and J. Cole squared off in a lyrical tic-for-tac over the issues of accountability during the recent deaths of many African Americans at the hands of police brutality. After launching her track “Song 33,” Noname went on Twitter over the weekend and apologized for engaging in a battle of the words with Cole.
“i’ve been thinking a lot about it and i am not proud of myself for responding with song 33,” she tweeted regarding her Madlib-produced track. “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.”
She later 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.”
The initial skirmish between Cole and Noname occurred last month when the Chicago lyricist subliminally called out high profiled rappers for not being vocal during the protests for George Floyd. Fans pointed the fingers to Cole, and Kendrick Lamar for fitting Noname’s description, and the former took offense, releasing his controversial track “Snow on the Bluff.” Subsequently, Cole spoke on the song’s creative process on Twitter and said he had no ill feelings towards Noname.
“Morning. I stand behind every word of the song that dropped last night,” he began. “Right or wrong I can’t say, but I can say it was honest. Some assume to know who the song is about. That’s fine with me, it’s not my job to tell anybody what to think or feel about the work. I accept all conversation and criticisms. But Let me use this moment to say this 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 n—a like me just be rapping.”
In return, Noname stormed back with her searing rebuttal “Song 33,” questioning Cole’s decision to speak on her tweet rather than the larger issues at hand.
Check out Noname’s tweets below.
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
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 ✊🏾
— Noname (@noname) June 21, 2020
