On Taking Up Space as Radical Black Woman: How Noname Transformed my Political Perspectives

A picture I took at the Noname concert in 2017 at the Phoenix Concert theatre.

In 2017, I never knew that my first concert ever would foreshadow my love for politics and social change; but that’s exactly what happened at the Phoenix Concert theatre in Toronto. After a long commute and wait in the cold with a few friends, I got to stand front row to a show I’d never forget: Noname. At the time, this artist’s unique rap style and recent rise to wider mainstream audiences meant that her Telefone album only received a limited amount of buzz, especially in Toronto. Despite this, over 1000 people presented themselves in support; and I stood at the very front row of the packed concert hall. As expected, the show went beyond expectations. The small crowd made it extremely personable and I left feeling seen and thankful. Noname did not just deliver a unique art style, but through music and performance, she also unapologetically shared her relatable truth and voice as Black woman.

A year later, at 18 years old, I began to notice Noname’s lyrics resonating even more because of my developing political knowledge. This ‘political enlightenment’ sorta came as an accident. After enrolling in a dual degree Political science and law (JD) program, I expected my main focus to be centered more so towards the “getting into law school” portion of my degree than the political science aspect. After all, I knew virtually nothing about politics and I was unsure about how much I would come to care for this subject during my studies. My first class, ‘Introduction to Political Science’ changed my entire perspective.

“Why don’t they teach more people about this?!” was quite literally my first thought after my initial lecture. I remember thinking “These are the systems that operate the whole country and world. The least they could do is tell us about it... ”

Looking back, my newfound political fascination was very endearing. I took a particular interest in learning about the ties between politics and injustice. As well, given my family’s inviolable history with the pursuit of justice (specifically, justice for Black folks) within the frameworks of political systems, it felt as though this space was where I was meant to be.

As I learned, I followed people on social media who were also going through the same mental emancipations. On my feed, Noname was clearly the biggest name speaking so frequently about politics. In July 2019, she started her book club to highlight Black and queer authors as well as her growing love for reading.

All of these occurrences and my clear admiration towards the rapper is what led me to be incredibly shocked when, later that year, Noname released a series of tweets announcing that she may turn away from the music industry altogether. More surprisingly, was why.

In a since-deleted tweet, she wrote: “To be honest with you, my heart isn’t fully in it anymore. The relationship between ‘artist’ and ‘fan’ is really fucking unhealthy. Yall like what y’all like and hate what y’all hate. And I don’t wanna be on either side. I’m just tryna read and organize.”

While researching further, I noticed that the bulk of Noname’s criticism was towards her statements about performing for white audiences:

“Me consistently creating content that is primarily consumed by a white audience who would rather shit on me than challenge their liberalism because somehow liking Lizzos music absolves them of racist tendencies.”

In another (since-deleted) tweet she also added the statement: “I don’t want to dance on stage for white people.”

Articles and tweets labelled Noname’s frustrations as another example of “outrage culture”, and I couldn’t help but judge these oversimplifications. The consumption of Black art by white audiences is a complicated topic. I saw far too many people condemning the musician online rather than contributing to the bigger conversation. From my perspective, this was not a Black rapper dismissing her white fans and audience. It was a Black woman speaking about her truth as an artist. But of course, unsurprisingly, an expressive Black woman makes far too many people uncomfortable.

In mainstream media, the most blatant example of Noname criticism came from fellow rapper J.Cole’s song Snow on Tha Bluff. The lyrics do not explicitly name Noname, but they target an unnamed artist that Cole denounces. Notably, the artist shares : “There’s something about the queen tone that’s botherin’ me” and the song goes on with lyrics which insinuate that the “queen”’s anger is unjustified and gratuitous.

On the day of the release, my timeline flooded with Black women expressing their frustrations towards J.Cole. The dialogue was clear: How come a Black woman who stands true to her beliefs and values is always labelled as “mad”? As a fan of J.Cole myself, the song came as a real disappointment. Once again, Noname’s criticism only offered a one-dimensional perspective towards her voice and platform. In spite of this, the outpouring of support towards the artist made me hopeful about the change we are seeing: Black women no longer need to fit the narrative. Though the ‘angry Black woman’ trope has yet to fade, our collective consciousness, vision and voice means that it will most definitely be called out.

I appreciated the dialogue that ensued from the J.Cole and Noname controversy. It reminded me of the countless times I have been dismissed for being a woman who uses her voice. In university, my engagement with political dialogue in class has most definitely been nit-picked or outright shut down by superiors. In a ‘Political Thought’ discussion class, I was once ignored after having my hand raised for several minutes. Having recognized me from prior in-class discussions, the professor finally called on me as he added (in front of the whole class) : “Do you actually have anything important to add, or are you just raising your hand to look like you have something to say?”

The truth is, I do have something important to add; and so do so many other intelligent and overlooked women. In a society that stereotypes and judges us for being too superficial; it seems as though we’ll continue to be targets even when we seek to have substantial conversations. There are far too many examples and studies that have shown the phenomenological correlation between the silencing of Black women with toxic or unsafe work environments. Whether it be on a college campus or in a wide-scale music industry, for us, participating in the art of discussion always comes with the risk of reprimands.

Noname has made it clear that as a Black artist from Chicago, her poetic music -with lyrics and themes tied to racial and political tensions in America- is created from a Black lens for Black audiences. Her book club and her music encourages everyone to educate themselves on the everyday realities that contribute to the continued oppression of all working people, especially those of racialized communities. The artist’s beliefs and emotions should not be scorned, but instead uplifted. Even those who disagree with her anti-capitalist sentiments cannot deny that the continued critiques directed towards her often trivialize her language or dismiss her message altogether.

Noname values truth over capital, and throughout her career she has exemplified this quality again and again. For example, with the recent release of the Fred Hampton biopic, Judas and the Black Messiah, Noname turned down a chance of being on the soundtrack because she personally believed that “most of his [anti-fascist and anti-imperialist] politics were stripped for [the] film.” As well, her first track of 2021, “Rainforest”, brings to light various sociopolitical issues that she is known to advocate against.

All in all, it is clear that this radical anti-capitalist and pro-black thinker is someone that stands true to her beliefs and continues to inspire various young adults such as myself. Noname is to be considered the most political rapper of our generation; and though some may disagree with her views, her unapologetic delivery should always be applauded, rather than attacked.

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Also check out this Noname interview: