Noname has not taken J. Cole’s take on Snow On Tha Bluff lying down. The eclectic pro-black singer dished out a fiery response with Song 33 and boy, did she do the dirt on Jermaine.
J. Cole vs Noname: Is this beef or a much-needed conversation?
The back-and-forth between J. Cole and Noname was not meant to be on wax. At least, that is what Cole would’ve thought.
What started out as a call for action from Noname ended up in one of the most confusing ‘beefs” (we use this term VERY loosely) in rap history.
Noname used her platform — as she always does — to highlight the apparent silence black musicians with immense influence, like J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar, displayed during the uprising against police brutality.
It’s important to note, Cole and Kendrick have been spotted out at protests in their respective cities but Noname was referring to something else.
As a person who champions the wokeness of the oppressed, she may have expected the two megastars to publicly speak out against the outrageous killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
The Fayetteville rapper used his platform a little differently, instead. Earlier in the week, J. Cole released Snow On Tha Bluff, a notice of concession to his average IQ and an indirect jab at Noname for her tactless approach in enlightening them about the best way to use their platforms in these trying times.
For the first time in his career, Cole faced off with social media’s cancel culture. The rapper was called out for being insensitive for voicing out his frustrations on a woman in times where men needed to step up and lead.
The backlash even drew out support from Chance The Rapper who criticised J. Cole’s decision to address Noname in that manner.
Cole, on the other hand, defended his approach and swore on it in a series of tweets.
All of this came to a head, on Juneteenth when Noname delivered her response in the form of a 70-second freestyle over a Madlib instrumental.
Listen: Noname delivers Song 33 on Juneteenth
The plush sounds of a pro-black bookworm schooling J. Cole about how tactless his approach was is just amazing. What a time we live in.
You can stream the song below:
The song has since divided social media. While some have lauded the singer for her bravery in standing up for herself, others saw her move as hypocritical.
These are some of the responses we picked out:
