After releasing a new track "Snow on tha Bluff" last night (June 16), J. Cole appears to have walked back a discussion about celebrity involvement in the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement.
While he has not explicitly admitted that his track was aimed at outspoken Chicago rapper Noname, Cole has now tweeted out an explanation of his stance in the movement, naming her as a voice of considerable knowledge in the matter, while also urging her to pivot her tone and asking her to "be gentle."
Cole referenced the song in a series of tweets, writing, "I stand behind every word of the song that dropped last night."
He continued: "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.
"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."
In the song, Cole names "a young lady out there...way smarter than me" that listeners believe to be Noname.
"It's something about the queen tone that's botherin' me / She strike me as somebody blessed enough to grow up in conscious environment / With parents that know 'bout the struggle for liberation and in turn they provide her with," he raps on the track.
So far, Noname has yet to respond to Cole's track or his Twitter explanation, but did reference the song's "queen tone" lyric in a tweet from last night.
Previously, Noname had called out celebrities for their silence on the death of George Floyd, tweeting, "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."
J. Cole last released KOD in 2018. Last year, he released Dreamville Records label comp Revenge of the Dreamers III, executive produced an album for Young Thug and appeared on Gang Starr's first new song in over a decade.
Last November, Noname revealed plans to release new music in 2020. While her last solo effort was 2018's Room 25, she more recently shared a song as Ghetto Sage with Saba and Smino.
Listen to "Snow on Tha Bluff" below, where you'll also find the rapper's recent tweets about Noname.
While he has not explicitly admitted that his track was aimed at outspoken Chicago rapper Noname, Cole has now tweeted out an explanation of his stance in the movement, naming her as a voice of considerable knowledge in the matter, while also urging her to pivot her tone and asking her to "be gentle."
Cole referenced the song in a series of tweets, writing, "I stand behind every word of the song that dropped last night."
He continued: "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.
"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."
In the song, Cole names "a young lady out there...way smarter than me" that listeners believe to be Noname.
"It's something about the queen tone that's botherin' me / She strike me as somebody blessed enough to grow up in conscious environment / With parents that know 'bout the struggle for liberation and in turn they provide her with," he raps on the track.
So far, Noname has yet to respond to Cole's track or his Twitter explanation, but did reference the song's "queen tone" lyric in a tweet from last night.
Previously, Noname had called out celebrities for their silence on the death of George Floyd, tweeting, "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."
J. Cole last released KOD in 2018. Last year, he released Dreamville Records label comp Revenge of the Dreamers III, executive produced an album for Young Thug and appeared on Gang Starr's first new song in over a decade.
Last November, Noname revealed plans to release new music in 2020. While her last solo effort was 2018's Room 25, she more recently shared a song as Ghetto Sage with Saba and Smino.
Listen to "Snow on Tha Bluff" below, where you'll also find the rapper's recent tweets about Noname.
We may not agree with each other but we gotta be gentle with each other. ✌🏿
— J. Cole (@JColeNC) June 17, 2020