*J. Cole is catching heat over his new song “Snow on tha Bluff,” which many fans believe is a diss to Black women, specifically female rapper Noname.
In May, Noname called out hip-hop stars for staying silent on the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and others.
Cole responded by appearing to call out her tone and attitude while “policing” her truth on his new track.
On Wednesday, he addressed the backlash by saying he stands behind “every word of the song.” He also called out fans for theorizing about the subject of the track.
“That’s fine with me,” Cole Tweeted Wednesday. “It’s not my job to tell anybody what to think or feel about the work. I accept all conversation and criticisms.”
He then urged fans to follow Noname, who he described “as a leader” for the culture.
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Morning. I stand behind every word of the song that dropped last night.
— J. Cole (@JColeNC) June 17, 2020
“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,” Cole said. “Meanwhile a n**** like me just be rapping.”
Meanwhile, several artists are weighing in on the controversy surrounding Cole’s latest track.
Chance the Rapper, who has collaborated with both Noname and Cole, tweeted, “Yet another L for men masking patriarchy and gaslighting as constructive criticism.”
He went on to note that both rappers are “my peoples but only one of them put out a whole song talking about the other needs to reconsider their tone and attitude in order to save the world. It’s not constructive and undermines all the work Noname has done. It’s not [black women’s] job to spoon feed us. We grown.”
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
— J. Cole (@JColeNC) June 17, 2020
Noname called out “top selling rappers” last month for not speaking out amid the protests over the police killing of George Floyd.
“Poor black folks all over the country are putting their bodies on the line in protest for our collective safety and y’all favorite top selling rappers not even willing to put a tweet up,” she said at the time, per Complex.
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
I haven’t done a lot of reading and I don’t feel well equipped as a leader in these times. But I do a lot of thinking. And I appreciate her and others like her because they challenge my beliefs and I feel that in these times that’s important.
— J. Cole (@JColeNC) June 17, 2020
In his response to J. Cole’s new record, Chance the Rapper said, “Everybody’s argument on either side is, we can’t personally attack each other if we really want to see a revolution. I can agree with that and can apply it in my own life. I wish we could learn that w/o two artists I admire having a public dispute.”
They both my peoples but only one of them put out a whole song talking about how the other needs to reconsider their tone and attitude in order to save the world. It’s not constructive and undermines all the work Noname has done. It’s not BWs job to spoon feed us. We grown https://t.co/TjIrMyFzQd
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) June 17, 2020
Listen to the song that’s got Black Twitter all worked up below.
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