Noname - “Rainforest”
If you missed the Noname/J.Cole beef this summer, here’s a short rundown:
In June, during the height of the 2020 BLM movement and social unrest in America, Noname started picking on Cole’s Twitter because she thought big-name Black artists should’ve been more vocal. Noname tweeted “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 rapper not even willing to put a tweet up.”
Noname has been transparent about her criticisms of American political ideologies since her first project Room 25 in 2018. She takes a strong stance against capitalism and the toxicity of celebrity culture. J. Cole dropped his first project a decade ago, so he inevitably has been exposed and consumed in celebrity culture for a while now, but he’s also been making strong political statements of his own during that time.
J.Cole ended up blatantly calling out Noname on his single “Snow On Tha Bluff.” The lyrics are pretty crazy and one of the most intricate, heated singles we got during the BLM movement this summer.
Just two days after Cole dropped his song, Noname responded with “Song 33.” To say the least, Noname knows her shit for an independent rapper and no hate to J. Cole, but Noname was a straight-up badass for speaking her piece to such an influential name in music.
After the pandemic halted the release of her new (and possibly last) project Factory Baby, Noname is back with another bold political statement on “Rainforest.”
“Rainforest” is one of Noname’s most groovy, tropical beats, but it also has some of her most politically charged statements yet.
She speaks directly to billionaires and the big corporations in America. She raps about the impacts that both racism and capitalism have on global climate change, and specifically how this inequality affects minorities.
Even as an independent artist who has faced controversial backlashes, Noname maximizes her platform and remains confident in herself and what she stands for.
Despite these deep, raw messages behind the lyrics, Noname is open about her need to find humor in her work. Simply put, “These bitches is cokeheads, man, fuck a billionaire.”
Noname is deeply metaphorical, dropping crazy bars with a very angelic voice and complementing the newer vibes of neo-soul and jazz rap that she plays with.
While navigating these crazy times, the most important thing is to educate yourself. While we should all stay true to ourselves and our beliefs, it is important to grow and adapt to the crazy shit around us.
Beyond the music, Noname is an activist on all her social media platforms, and in 2020, she started the ‘Noname Book Club.’ This is an online community that uplifts and promotes two books a month written by Black authors. The book club also supplies books to prisons around the country.
It is not a shock that Noname and her tracks can be regarded as highly controversial because of how political she dares to go. By not holding anything back, Noname uses music as a means to escape, but also to bring awareness to global injustice.
