Noname has taken aim at the “woke mob” for the backlash she’s received about her upcoming collaboration with Jay Electronica — and now, she’s threatening to withhold her upcoming album due to the criticism.
In a series of Tweets she dropped on Friday (July 14), the “Song 33” artist hit back at critics who dared to take her to task for “Balloons,” which features the controversial rapper and is scheduled to drop on July 21.
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“N-ggas legit rap about actual murder and sexual assault that they commit in real life and y’all can’t take a jay elect verse?” she wrote in one tweet. “please drink water and be safe out here [praying hands emoji] i’ll see y’all when my album drop in a few weeks. sending love and prayers.”
In another, she wrote, “been seeing a lot of critiques about my choice to include jay on my song. if you disagree with his political and religious beliefs that’s fine. but to compare him to hitler? a man responsible for the extermination of millions is wild as fuck to me. it’s truly not that deep.”
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When the pressure got too intense, Noname threatened to withhold her long-awaited follow-up album, Sundial. “oh the song fa sho coming out lol. the album is another story. i’m good on the selective outrage. anyways hip hop is in a great place right now. another noname album ain’t really necessary,” she wrote.
Check out some of her other comments in defense of Jay Electronica below:
my nigga it’s a rap. you know how many niggas compare themselves to anything for a punchline. like are y’all being for real??? lmao y’all bout to hate my album. i make some comparisons myself. couple similes and what not. shit wild! https://t.co/UxyAOlqeOr
— noname (@noname) July 14, 2023
sir, you’re talking to a woman rapper who is a fan of hip hop. SOOO many rappers rap about raping women. like really graphic detailed verses about raping women! and i still manage with my tiny brian to understand that raps are indeed raps. whether i like them all or not https://t.co/Pzs9UYOrUF
— noname (@noname) July 14, 2023
wait to y’all find out some of my cousins and uncles in NOI 😭 and i love them too. like with my whole heart
— noname (@noname) July 14, 2023
ok this shit is blowing me now. i have my critiques of the NOI myself but bro what?!? nazis we’re murdering people. maybe i purposely did a song wit jay elect to alienate my white fans. maybe i did it cause he my favorite rapper, maybe i’m black and got bigger fish to fry. idk 🤷🏾♀️ https://t.co/uTG3cBIwPC
— noname (@noname) July 14, 2023
now do i need to respond to negativity, no. but when i occasionally do it’s because i’m human and that’s ok 💚
— noname (@noname) July 14, 2023
The controversy surrounding Jay Electronica isn’t entirely unearned, however. Back in 2020, he came to Nick Cannon‘s defense when the multihyphenate made remarks that were deemed “antisemitic” when he called a renowned rabbi a “coward” and a “devil,” according to Okayplayer.
Then, back in January of last year, he sparked even more controversy when he got a tattoo in honor of controversial Nation of Islam leader, Minister Louis Farrakhan, on his face.
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The work of London-based tattoo artist Olivier Tattoo, the tattoo features the name “Farrakhan” in script font and sits above Jay Electronica’s left eyebrow. The New Orleans native posted a close-up of his face tat on Instagram soundtracked by his and Westside Gunn’s Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Side B collaboration “Free Kutter.”
“As my sweet mother would say… ‘Well son, fuckem,’” Jay Electronica wrote as the caption.
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Minister Farrakhan hasn’t been without his own controversy. The 88-year-old leader has repeatedly been accused of making homophobic and antisemitic statements, and in 2019 was banned from Facebook and Instagram under their policies against dangerous individuals and organizations.
As for Noname, she made headlines back in January when she called for more gatekeeping by Black artists.
The rapper and activist shared a long message divided into four images as a slideshow on Instagram. In it, Noname started with a statement about the myriad ways in which Black art can be accessed by white consumers.
“One of the biggest mistakes i believe we’ve made in our struggle towards liberation in this country is allwoing white america unfiltered access to our entire culture,” she wrote. “White america has created an institution of violent policing and medical neglect that is killing us EVERY FUCKING DAY. and every day we get on their platforms (tik tok, twitter etc) and we create trends, music, art and language that they turn into billions.”
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After pointing out that she believes social media is sometimes manipulated by law enforcement officials, Noname called out the apathetic attitude white consumers seem to have when it comes to music “about the plight of living or the struggle to make it out.”
