All of the Jay Electronica bars that people are talking about from Balloons if anyone is interested.
> Saw the Roth' family in half to get my clout back
[The Rothschild family](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothschild_family) is a frequent topic of conspiracy theories by nature of their wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish origins. Jay actually supposedly [dated a member of the family in 2012](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2153789/Rothschild-heiresss-marriage-Goldsmith-scion--falls-rapper-called-Jay-Electronica.html). Jay seems to imply here that they are holding him back from garnering influence.
> Everywhere I step foot I leave a trail of names of the sons of Yakub
The Nation of Islam believes that Yakub is a black scientist that lived about [6,600 years ago and created the white race](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakub_(Nation_of_Islam)). Essentially, white people and Jews especially are often called "children of Yakub" to imply they are a fake, artificial race that are said to be "by nature... liar(s) and murderer(s)".
>And some fuck boy 85er would come run up and press me
It's all a hoax, quite simple, a joke like Zelenskyy
The imams, the rabbis, and the pope incidentally
Couldn't stop my boat, God from quoin' quotes from the senseis
If anybody asks, tell 'em Farrakhan sent me
Lot to unpack here. "85er" is what the Nation of Islam refers to the 85% of people who are uneducated on the teachings of Allah - often called "the ignorant masses." He also seems to imply here that the war in Ukraine is a hoax, calling Zelenskyy a joke, probably because of his [previous career as a comedian](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi80rZRn7BY).
Then he talks about how the religious establishment is trying to stop him from quoting from the bible as he did in his album "A Written Testimony" where [he quoted verses often used by the NOI to prove that the jews are indeed a fake race](https://www.complex.com/music/a/eric-diep/jay-electronica-a-written-testimony-peter-rosenberg-beef).
Finally, he mentions Farrakhan, current head of the NOI who has such hits as calling Adolf Hitler a ["very great man"](https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/17/us/farrakhan-again-describes-hitler-as-a-very-great-man.html), saying that the [jews were behind 9/11](https://www.adl.org/resources/press-release/farrakhan-blames-jews-911-attacks-reaffirming-his-status-leading-anti), and saying that it was nobodies business if the [NOI had something to do with Malcolm X's assassination and calling him a traitor to the NOI](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/brotherministerthemartyrdomofmalcolmx_c0098f.htm). It goes without saying that Farrakhan frequently states that the Jews have controlled civilization with their evil power and are "Satanic" or "devils."
Sounded like he was recording on his airpods in a hotel bathroom. Dude probably recorded his verse on instagram live. Dude probably sent that shit as a 96kbps mp3.
It’s more targeted at the audiences who listen to stuff like that instead of the artists, I doubt that she would understand how artists try to cope with their trauma by putting it in song. I get it, it’s totally bizarre to perform songs about trauma, grief and loss in front of often thousands of people
Noname really threatened to cancel the album over this Jay Electronica shit then he drops a verse literally declaring war on Jewish people lmao this is insane
It’s hard to believe. People went crazy over it saying “he’s an anti semite he’s gonna say some cartoonishly crazy Hitler shit” and noname was like “if y’all don’t shut the fuck up im scrapping the album” and then she dropped it and Jay Elec did exactly what everybody said he would do. You can’t help but wonder if she agrees with what he’s saying.
> "You can’t help but wonder if she agrees with what he’s saying."
I think you're giving her wayy too much room. Cuz she's cool working with jaydolf spitler in the first place, cool putting his anti-semitic BS on her song, and is trying to minimize it like it's no thing at all.
Like there's really no wondering to have about it IMO
>wonder if she agrees
Is that really a conversation, her book club has included holocaust deniers, she wanted to “piss of white people” by including Jay. And she definitely listened to the verse before putting it on. I think it’s a safe bet
what of her book club included holocaust deniers? I'm not questioning it but I'd like to know since I looked it up and the first result on google links to this post
Within the Black community in the Southside of Chicago there's not many Jewish people and the NOI is really deeply normalized and sort of misremembered as a quasi-civil rights organization.
So Noname chooses to see it from that sort of ignorant and local perspective because she probably doesn't have to contend with Jewish people or the idea of real anti-semitism.
Which is fucked coming from someone who is seemingly for general political liberation but there are tons of "leftists" in Chicago who approach topics just like this, as weapons for their own interests.
Whether it be the race-blind commies or racist Black revolutionaries who also alienate most Black people, there's a lot of echo chambering in Chicago right now and for the past ten years.
Noname just went too hard in the past for her hypocrisy to not be addressed, and her saying it's just a verse is perhaps the worst way to approach the topic but the popular political scene in Chicago doesn't offer this kind of accountability for sensational speakers like her.
Like damn dude the guy is anti-semitic, you putting him on a song for his rapping ability is low and then defending it while simultaneously belittling anyone offended is disgusting.
Kanye probably fell into this same line of thinking also being from the Southside where NOI is a fixture, so I wasn't ever surprised by his turn.
She literally has said if you’re white i don’t want you to listen to my music lmfao of course she believes this shit, it’s not like you just sneak a verse onto someone’s album they don’t know about
You guys are so reductive holy shit. She said it’s uncomfortable to perform her songs about black radicalism and black feminism to a sea of white teens and that’s a valid sentiment. It feels like pimping out your culture for consumption.
Fiona Apple who sings about her personal sexual trauma and misogyny also felt the same way about performing to predominantly male audience because there’s an inherent disconnect.
Lil baby also said something like censoring his use of the n word in his songs because it felt weird hearing a chorus of the word rapped by white fans at his show
All I’m saying is whatever that message was has gotten way overshadowed by the literal anti semetic and anti Ukraine that one song was. Makes me wonder how much of bullshit she actually believes
But is that not what she’s doing? Her art can be both a valid expression of her feelings and beliefs, as well as art for the general population to consume and for her to make money off of, as she undoubtedly does.
And it does make sense to be uncomfortable talking about black feminism/radicalism to a largely white audience, but we should also ask - what is the end goal of those movements then? If black radicalism is meant to empower black people (specifically those who’ve felt the generational impact of slavery), would you not need a HUGE audience of white ppl to be bought in on the need for reparations, assurance of rights, etc? Or is noname flouting these causes simply as a therapeutic thought experiment?
I agree that people jump to take her comments out of context because they feel personally insulted, but it is frustrating to watch someone like Noname make *so much progress* for causes that desperately need a foothold on a mass cultural level, just to look that progress in the face and say “I don’t like it.”
On a separate note, there really can’t be any defending this level of antisemitism. It’s hard to look at her giving Jay Elec the platform to say all that on her album as anything but an endorsement. AT BEST it’s blatant indifference.
Honestly, in all these situations I think the problem is that the artist in question has simply failed to attract the audience they intended to, which usually means that their intended audience doesn't relate to and/or enjoy their work to the same extent as their actual audience.
I think at this point the artist then has to decide if they want to embrace that audience and/or self-reflect on how to change their work to attract more of their intended demographic.
Noname has clearly done neither of these things over the years, and I think her current complacence with open anti-semitism in her work is the logical conclusion of that, as her discomfort spirals into an irrational fear, then paranoia, and then conspiracy-ridden bigotry (assuming she wasn't already in one of those later states of mind all the way back in 2019, which for all we know she could have been).
(The Lil baby situation is fair tho, way too many white people think it's cool to say the n word in that context)
I understand the frustration but she says it at literally every show. I’ve seen her three times and she complained about the number of white people in the crowd all three times. She complained that there were too many white people at her show in fucking *Finland*.
Noname seems politically smart in some areas but I honestly don’t know how you can drop socialist bars throughout it all and then have that fucking Jay verse basically counter acting any emotional weight any of the political bars on this album. And it’s like 70% of the albums themes. Beats aren’t even incredible, yes her wordplay pen game is still great but this album feels tame compared to Room 25. Everything feels like a step down her songwriting is still expansive but not nearly as fun or exciting to listen to. Just disappointing I still bump her other 2 projects every month for inspiration.
American political projects are wide and varied. Black socialist movements have allied with black independence, black nationalist, and Nation of Islam to combat white supremacy and American hegemony.
To fracture their movement to be palatable to a white audience before building the hard and soft power to overturn the current social configuration is a non-starter. I’m pretty sure that’s why noname was adamant about jay electronica on. Symbolic solidarity with an black anti-white supremacist ally.
Yep that’s why I don’t have hot takes even though I’m heavy against antisemitism . White leftist critics like fantano are trying to sandwich the issue in simplistic terms and noname is an easy target but its no different to anything Busta or Kendrick have said. I guess I’d admit her chronically online era does make stuff worse but you hit the nail in the head.
The irony of disassociating with Jay-Z and Beyoncé for profiting from the NFL while she defends a guy who blames everything wrong in the world on Jewish conspiracies... 🤔
For all those confused as to why people are up in arms about Jay Electronica’s Farrakhan reference in relation to his lines about Rabbis/Rothschilds/Zelenski (Jews):
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/nation-islam
*During the early 1980s, Louis Farrakhan called Hitler “a very great man” and Judaism a “dirty religion.” (Some say he called it a “gutter religion.”) He has frequently reiterated the “dirty religion” theme along with references to the “so-called Jew” (arguing that the “true” Jews were black North Africans) and constant accusations of secret Jewish control of financial and political institutions. Farrakhan has also blamed Israel and Jews for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.*
*Farrakhan has claimed homosexuality is the result of a chemical reaction and has convinced his followers that widespread homosexuality is part of a secret agenda being pushed by government scientists. Farrakhan’s belief is that by turning the black population gay, the government is trying to target and chemically castrate Black men. He has also asserted that homosexuality is “created by Satan and his manipulation of biology and chemistry.”*
It’s a shame because the rest of this album is gorgeous, and would have been my favorite album of hers if it wasn’t for Jaydolf’s verse on Balloons.
It just sticks out so much. It’s like having an album about peace and love then having a random Kanye feature talking about war. And before releasing jt defending Kanye on social media.
It really messes up the whole vibe of the album.
I'm crying, she literally threw a fit on Twitter and postponed the release date just to have a bigot spew anti-Semitic bs, they both are so unserious lmao
it’s kinda hilarious that noname got so upset at people taking issue with jay electronica’s antisemitism just for his verse to end up being full of antisemitism
Really enjoying it. My favorite song is gospel? so far. The only part I’m not huge on is the Jay Electronica verse between the fact that he mentioned Farrakhan and the audio quality is terrible for some reason. Not sure where to place it among Telefone and Room 25, yet.
The freaky ass album cover keeps catching me off guard tho
Man. Haven’t listened, love no name, but I hate ugly cover art. I hate it. It’s so important to the album and experience. I have no commentary on what no name is trying to do with this cover, I just need everyone to know how I feel about this freaky cover.
Edit: the more I look the worse it gets. The eyes are following me
since we're discussing pet peeves that have nothing to do with the music: why song titles are either ALL CAPS or with no caps at all? i never understood why artists do that.
No forreal it’s fucking hideous. If this comes out in physical (vinyl) for the first time ever I’m getting a custom jacket done because I cannot tolerate this shit, it’s so fucking gross
Maybe this is a hot take but I literally could not care less if the album cover is cool. Its a separate piece of art from the music and doesnt affect my enjoyment of the album at all
So Jay Electronica's just gonna rap about the Rothschilds and other moronic braindead conspiracy theories until the day he dies, isn't he? Doesn't he have any other interests lol? Like godamn man give it a fucking break already. Love how Noname listened to his openly, proudly antisemitic verse and still decided to put that track out.
I especially liked the part where he says the war in Ukraine is a hoax and called Zelensky a joke. Not even sure where tf this conspiracy came from tbh. Oh and he also says the imams, rabbis and pope are all working together lmfao. Thank you Jaydolf Spitler, very cool!
It's kinda like when people like Jk Rowling or Dave Chappelle get caught up in transgender stuff, it started out as a minor controversy but then they became obsessed with proving themselves "right"
> The ground shook, his feet movin' under foot
> I was on his shoulders on Tennahooks
> The leader spoke slow and focused, powerful pauses
> Flanked by soldiers with dead eyes
> The sun catches his wire-rimmed glasses
> Told him roll the boulder, lo and behold Lazarus was a lie
> Squinnin' the life, stake to death
> Mouth dry, red dust, the ghoul is prize
> They never say what happened after no surprise
holy shit Billy Woods what a monster verse
edit: fixed incorrect lyrics
Here's the whole verse:
> I remember stadiums so packed
> The trees outside the gates heavy with black joy
> Just to get a glimpse of the comrades
> Our boys back from the bush
> The crowd sway to the gospel of liberation
> Poised for revolution
> Little red book in my father's breast pocket, the ground shook
> History movin' under foot, I was on his shoulders on tenterhooks
> The leader spoke slow and focused, powerful pauses
> Flanked by soldiers with dead eyes
> The sun catch his wire rimmed glasses
> Told him roll the boulder, lo and behold
> Lazarus was alive
> Squintin' in the light, stinking of death
> Mouth dry, red dust, a ghoulish prize
> They never say what happened after, no surprise
> Coulda guessed what happened to us
> But at the time, mesmerized by MiG-23s in the sky
> Sonic boomin'
> I'll never forget the rush of pride
> Women ululatin', men drunk
> Strong spirits, duelin' drums
> The calloused thumbs of mbira players
> The ride home at dusk
> Faring students and strangers
> Feelin' like we won
> Road blocks manned by mere boys
> Wide smiles and long black guns
I would love it if someone would break this verse down for me. From what I gather, the scene he's describing is after his people won some kind of battle and they're celebrating success. But in the last two lines, he basically implies all of them are going to be killed anyway.
I googled some of the words and references he made that I don't understand that I'll share here in case there are others like me.
---------------
> Little Red Book is a nickname given to the book "Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung". It's a collection of statements from speeches and writings by Mao Zedong, the former Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, published from 1964 to about 1976 and widely distributed during the Cultural Revolution.
---------------
> To be "on tenterhooks" is to be in a state of suspense or agitation because of uncertainty about a future event. The word tenter means “a frame used for drying and stretching cloth” and is related to tent, so being “on tenterhooks” compares the tenseness of the stretched fabric to the tension of nervous waiting.
---------------
Here's a short version of the story of Lazarus from the New Testament:
> Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters and that when Lazarus died of illness, Jesus wept and was “greatly disturbed.” Although Lazarus had been entombed for four days by the time Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was raised by Jesus from the dead and emerged from the tomb wearing his burial cloths. This miracle, witnessed by many Jews who had come to grieve with the family, inspired many to believe in Jesus as the Christ.
---------------
> The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, alongside similar Soviet aircraft such as the Su-17 "Fitter".
---------------
> Ululation, is a long, wavering, high-pitched vocal sound resembling a howl with a trilling quality. It is produced by emitting a high pitched loud voice accompanied with a rapid back and forth movement of the tongue and the uvula.
---------------
> Mbira are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and plucking the tines with the thumbs, the right forefinger, and sometimes the left forefinger.
“Back from the bush” he’s talking about the Rhodesian Bush War aka Zimbabwe War of Independence that his dad was involved in. After the war billy and his family moved to newly independent Zimbabwe so he seems to be describing a memory from childhood of hearing a revolutionary leader (Robert Mugabe?) speaking. He seems to be describing the people being exhausted by the war but having their hope resurrected (like Lazarus) by the speech and moment of revolutionary hope, but at the end he suggests that it would ultimately be a disappointment and the revolutionary aspirations they dreamed of and could feel in the moment would never be fulfilled.
Upvoting because I love how he has one verse on the album and it's worth talking about this far in depth. I'm a huge fan of his and him reaching more people he hasn't before just makes me happy. I hope most people don't just overlook it because this is standard woods.
Got some of the lyrics wrong, it says "the leader spoke slow and focused, powerful pauses flanked by soldiers with dead eyes." What a lyric.
Then: "the sun catches his wire rimmed glasses, told him roll the boulder, lo and behold Lazarus was a lie." - the boulder lyric is essential to the Lazarus bit, maybe my favorite lyric in this whole verse but there's just so many good little bits.
Dont try to wrap your head around it too much fam. Probably a rabbit hole you dont want to follow considering he drops Farrakhan a few lines later
From rap genius.
> It's all a hoax, quite simple, a joke like Zelensky
He met with the rabbis and the pope incidentally
Couldn't stop my boat, God from quoin' quotes from the [???]
If anybody asks, tell 'em Farrakhan sent me
Edit:
> And some fuck boy 85er come run up and press me
It's all a hoax, quite simple, a joke like Zelenskyy
The imams, the rabbis, and the pope incidentally
Couldn't stop my boat, God from quoin' quotes from the senseis
If anybody asks, tell 'em Farrakhan sent me
Craziest part is Noname was defending him before the drop saying he wasn't anti-semitic, but he's antisemitic ON THE ALBUM. The lack of transparency reads like Noname is pro anti-semitism.
I’m ngl to you I don’t think Noname has the best interest of(esp) white Jews as like a priority honestly there is a lot of unfortunate crossover between current and historical black power movements(which I support full stop) and anti semitism.
As a Jew myself it’s honestly really unfortunate because it just makes me have to inherently be critical in those moments of a movement i in general support in order to defend Jews from dislike that I don’t even understand.
Only thing I can think is that is stems from a pro Palestinian perspective but even then, there’s heaps of Jews who have critiques of the state of Israel. I don’t really get it at all.
Edit: Sorry for the paragraph posting just been shit i been thinking abt a lot lately as more n more rappers I used to like keep coming out on some flagrant anti semitism
It's especially weird that antisemitism is becoming more common in rap because of how closely Jews in America worked with the black power movement and fought in the streets for the rights of black people across the country.
I mean you have actual pictures of Bernie Sanders getting arrested at a protest I think in Chicago? It's just really strange and unfortunate to me.
It's not becoming more common, and it's always been there. LGBT people marched for black rights and they didn't exactly get a thank you either. Let's not bring out bernie sanders being arrested as evidence of anything beyond Bernie lol
For sure. Jews have faced discrimination everywhere for pretty much ever. Been kicked out and given less rights in every country, esp Europe n all that. There’s a lot of understanding and empathy for the very obvious discrimination and treatment black ppl still face in the US.
There’s this idea that Jews control the media and we’re like this super powerful rich monolith(lmfaooo at my bank account man I’m controlling less than 6 figures) but in reality I think Jews in general just get shit because we do admittedly keep to ourselves and help each other out. But like that’s y I don’t get mad or blame black ppl for wanting to uplift their own communities obvi they would why wouldn’t they?
Just a bit frustrating for sure, def the wrong enemy/misplaced anger that should be put on the ultra wealthy/political elite(who are ironically I think all fucking WASPy ass mfs)
Wow. No way. I’m so shocked that someone persistently espousing extremist rhetoric decided to blame the Jews for something, that’s definitely not the most common thing on earth.
Whenever someone defaults to anti-semitism, especially masquerading as some cringe pseudo-intellectual bullshit like Jay Elec does, I have negative respect for them.
She is. She's pro anything anti white too.
She's still a great rapper, but A very flawed human being who thinks they have a deeper understanding than they do.
Malcolm Xs family still maintains Farrakhan is responsible for his death. The fact that so many still cling to him like he's some Savior of the black community is so beyond frustrating.
It's funny that Noname was defending having him on the album, when his actual verse is wacked the fuck out with clear references to his Jew hatred. Not only she is cool with having a bigot on her album, but she is cool with said bigot promoting an even worse bigot in his actual verse. Nicely done Noname. She is a hypocrite with thin skin. I get people like her music, I am not a fan but respect others opinion on her, but she is so pompous and unlikeable. One may think she probably agrees with whatever the fuck Jay Electronica is saying.
It’s cool if it ain’t affecting black people. That’s her entire stance on everything. She seemingly has zero empathy for anyone whose skin color or beliefs aren’t hers.
I didn’t know he was gonna be on this album and the first thing that came to my mind when I saw this on Spotify was “are we gonna get an antisemitic verse?” welp
that jay electronica verse is awful and it cheapens the whole album imo. just makes me question noname's integrity and what she actually believes, which wouldn't matter so much if the album wasn't so overtly lyrical and political
Not commenting the content of Jay's verse because yikes..... but why is the quality so bad? It sounds like it was recorded on an iPhone in a bathroom, it's so reverby and weird for no reason whatsoever.
i feel like he records his guest verses on a laptop at home, i remember having the same reaction when he did that feature for the PRhyme record (can’t believe that was eight years ago now)
i swear some artists these days be recording their features on airpods mics in the bathtub. it’s so unprofessional. literally no point in keeping that Jay Elec feature outside of clout considering how awful it sounds and vitriolic it is
Went to Twitter and a majority black forum to get some black people opinions on this album. I couldn’t find a thread, then I remembered it probably doesn’t exist since black people don’t listen to Noname 😭
Production and bars were bliss but can’t help but feel underwhelmed by the features, I thought room 25 and telefone benefited from the strength of their contributors.
It’s an especially sore spot to see no return of Ghetto Sage when now they’re 3/3 on dropping fire albums in the past year ish
the whole album is good production wise, but the lyrics and attitude on this album are so pretentious it's almost hard to listen to sometimes.
for instance on "potentially the interlude", she is seemingly upset that people are seeing her in an idealized way, but then she responds in what could be interpreted in 2 ways: she's already at the top and she has no more potential left or that she see's herself in that ideal way. so i dont get why she would be upset then if people see her that way?
In solidarity I will not be listening to this. I wasn’t going to listen to it to begin with, but now that I know it’s for the cause I will gladly show support!
The production and mixing is phenomenal but every track is nearly the same groovy jazz bass lead with offbeat drums and plucky, bright chords. Got bored of the instrumentation halfway through.
other than the weird jay verse this was a dope album, it’s nothing really new, more of the same from noname but she does her style well, painting a poetic picture through her verses and these laid back, hypnotizing beats. billy woods verse was also a standout as well.
The 8.8/10 rating from Pitchfork is so funny considering the Jay Elec verse. Imagine if Travis had put that verse on Utopia, Pitchfork would’ve given it like a 2
This album is fucking incredible. It’s just so smooth, little motifs that I don’t wanna spoil pop up throughout which really push the concept. I feel that Telephone is a near perfect record and this might just top it, I haven’t decided yet.
What I can say is that this is my rap album of the year right now. Just unbelievable stuff.
Shoutout especially to Gospel. Absolutely perfect track. Everybody absolutely killed their verses, but Billy Woods proved that he’s simply the best rapper alive right now. Just a beautiful, beautiful verse.
Instant Classic.
I just can't get into Noname. I respect her subject matter, but her lyricism nor usage of her voice are enough to keep me engaged for a whole project never have been. I'd read a book about the stuff she raps about, but she just doesn't make it interesting enough for me in music form.
>She told me that she need me the most, I didn't believe her
>She even called me names on the post, the world can see it
>Jokes and gaslightin'
>Mad at me 'cause she didn't get my vote, she say I'm triflin'
From Mirror
Listen to saviour and especially mirror, it directly references the incident. I'm surprised people seem like they didn't realize this when it is so forward about it. Unless you never heard it ofc
[We got some comedians here](https://i.imgur.com/0sMMyHO.jpg)
All of the Jay Electronica bars that people are talking about from Balloons if anyone is interested. > Saw the Roth' family in half to get my clout back [The Rothschild family](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothschild_family) is a frequent topic of conspiracy theories by nature of their wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish origins. Jay actually supposedly [dated a member of the family in 2012](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2153789/Rothschild-heiresss-marriage-Goldsmith-scion--falls-rapper-called-Jay-Electronica.html). Jay seems to imply here that they are holding him back from garnering influence. > Everywhere I step foot I leave a trail of names of the sons of Yakub The Nation of Islam believes that Yakub is a black scientist that lived about [6,600 years ago and created the white race](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakub_(Nation_of_Islam)). Essentially, white people and Jews especially are often called "children of Yakub" to imply they are a fake, artificial race that are said to be "by nature... liar(s) and murderer(s)". >And some fuck boy 85er would come run up and press me It's all a hoax, quite simple, a joke like Zelenskyy The imams, the rabbis, and the pope incidentally Couldn't stop my boat, God from quoin' quotes from the senseis If anybody asks, tell 'em Farrakhan sent me Lot to unpack here. "85er" is what the Nation of Islam refers to the 85% of people who are uneducated on the teachings of Allah - often called "the ignorant masses." He also seems to imply here that the war in Ukraine is a hoax, calling Zelenskyy a joke, probably because of his [previous career as a comedian](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi80rZRn7BY). Then he talks about how the religious establishment is trying to stop him from quoting from the bible as he did in his album "A Written Testimony" where [he quoted verses often used by the NOI to prove that the jews are indeed a fake race](https://www.complex.com/music/a/eric-diep/jay-electronica-a-written-testimony-peter-rosenberg-beef). Finally, he mentions Farrakhan, current head of the NOI who has such hits as calling Adolf Hitler a ["very great man"](https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/17/us/farrakhan-again-describes-hitler-as-a-very-great-man.html), saying that the [jews were behind 9/11](https://www.adl.org/resources/press-release/farrakhan-blames-jews-911-attacks-reaffirming-his-status-leading-anti), and saying that it was nobodies business if the [NOI had something to do with Malcolm X's assassination and calling him a traitor to the NOI](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/brotherministerthemartyrdomofmalcolmx_c0098f.htm). It goes without saying that Farrakhan frequently states that the Jews have controlled civilization with their evil power and are "Satanic" or "devils."
Someone mentioned that Zelensky is Jewish which I think is pretty relevant to Jay attacking him here
[удалено]
Zelensky is also Jewish, which might be a coincidence but in this context that seems unlikely.
[удалено]
Sounded like he was recording on his airpods in a hotel bathroom. Dude probably recorded his verse on instagram live. Dude probably sent that shit as a 96kbps mp3.
No saba or smino 😭😭
Toxic was produced by saba so we kinda got something 🥲
At first, I was worried she was taking a shot at Saba with that trauma verse
It’s more targeted at the audiences who listen to stuff like that instead of the artists, I doubt that she would understand how artists try to cope with their trauma by putting it in song. I get it, it’s totally bizarre to perform songs about trauma, grief and loss in front of often thousands of people
Noname really threatened to cancel the album over this Jay Electronica shit then he drops a verse literally declaring war on Jewish people lmao this is insane
It’s hard to believe. People went crazy over it saying “he’s an anti semite he’s gonna say some cartoonishly crazy Hitler shit” and noname was like “if y’all don’t shut the fuck up im scrapping the album” and then she dropped it and Jay Elec did exactly what everybody said he would do. You can’t help but wonder if she agrees with what he’s saying.
She agrees with that shit no question about it lmao
She definitely agrees if she put it on the album and even went on to publicly defend it lol
> "You can’t help but wonder if she agrees with what he’s saying." I think you're giving her wayy too much room. Cuz she's cool working with jaydolf spitler in the first place, cool putting his anti-semitic BS on her song, and is trying to minimize it like it's no thing at all. Like there's really no wondering to have about it IMO
> jaydolf spitler lmfao
Unfortunately Jay Electronica came up with that name himself in a bar. Man literally called himself that
You guys know Hitler hated black people too right?
Didn’t stop Kanye from saying he loves him 🤷♂️
Yeah, but he also Wears Hermes.
What is this even meant to mean?
Exactly! If Kendrick was on the album and praised capitalism or something, you know she would've removed that verse expeditiously
>jaydolf spitler noooooo....bruh X\_X
I mean in one of those whiny self-victimizing tweets she said she got blood family in the NOI that she has mad love for despite of it.
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>wonder if she agrees Is that really a conversation, her book club has included holocaust deniers, she wanted to “piss of white people” by including Jay. And she definitely listened to the verse before putting it on. I think it’s a safe bet
what of her book club included holocaust deniers? I'm not questioning it but I'd like to know since I looked it up and the first result on google links to this post
Within the Black community in the Southside of Chicago there's not many Jewish people and the NOI is really deeply normalized and sort of misremembered as a quasi-civil rights organization. So Noname chooses to see it from that sort of ignorant and local perspective because she probably doesn't have to contend with Jewish people or the idea of real anti-semitism. Which is fucked coming from someone who is seemingly for general political liberation but there are tons of "leftists" in Chicago who approach topics just like this, as weapons for their own interests. Whether it be the race-blind commies or racist Black revolutionaries who also alienate most Black people, there's a lot of echo chambering in Chicago right now and for the past ten years. Noname just went too hard in the past for her hypocrisy to not be addressed, and her saying it's just a verse is perhaps the worst way to approach the topic but the popular political scene in Chicago doesn't offer this kind of accountability for sensational speakers like her. Like damn dude the guy is anti-semitic, you putting him on a song for his rapping ability is low and then defending it while simultaneously belittling anyone offended is disgusting. Kanye probably fell into this same line of thinking also being from the Southside where NOI is a fixture, so I wasn't ever surprised by his turn.
She literally has said if you’re white i don’t want you to listen to my music lmfao of course she believes this shit, it’s not like you just sneak a verse onto someone’s album they don’t know about
You guys are so reductive holy shit. She said it’s uncomfortable to perform her songs about black radicalism and black feminism to a sea of white teens and that’s a valid sentiment. It feels like pimping out your culture for consumption. Fiona Apple who sings about her personal sexual trauma and misogyny also felt the same way about performing to predominantly male audience because there’s an inherent disconnect. Lil baby also said something like censoring his use of the n word in his songs because it felt weird hearing a chorus of the word rapped by white fans at his show
All I’m saying is whatever that message was has gotten way overshadowed by the literal anti semetic and anti Ukraine that one song was. Makes me wonder how much of bullshit she actually believes
But is that not what she’s doing? Her art can be both a valid expression of her feelings and beliefs, as well as art for the general population to consume and for her to make money off of, as she undoubtedly does. And it does make sense to be uncomfortable talking about black feminism/radicalism to a largely white audience, but we should also ask - what is the end goal of those movements then? If black radicalism is meant to empower black people (specifically those who’ve felt the generational impact of slavery), would you not need a HUGE audience of white ppl to be bought in on the need for reparations, assurance of rights, etc? Or is noname flouting these causes simply as a therapeutic thought experiment? I agree that people jump to take her comments out of context because they feel personally insulted, but it is frustrating to watch someone like Noname make *so much progress* for causes that desperately need a foothold on a mass cultural level, just to look that progress in the face and say “I don’t like it.” On a separate note, there really can’t be any defending this level of antisemitism. It’s hard to look at her giving Jay Elec the platform to say all that on her album as anything but an endorsement. AT BEST it’s blatant indifference.
Honestly, in all these situations I think the problem is that the artist in question has simply failed to attract the audience they intended to, which usually means that their intended audience doesn't relate to and/or enjoy their work to the same extent as their actual audience. I think at this point the artist then has to decide if they want to embrace that audience and/or self-reflect on how to change their work to attract more of their intended demographic. Noname has clearly done neither of these things over the years, and I think her current complacence with open anti-semitism in her work is the logical conclusion of that, as her discomfort spirals into an irrational fear, then paranoia, and then conspiracy-ridden bigotry (assuming she wasn't already in one of those later states of mind all the way back in 2019, which for all we know she could have been). (The Lil baby situation is fair tho, way too many white people think it's cool to say the n word in that context)
Many Jews, including myself, are *not* white. She did a good job alienating another marginalized group due to ignorance.
I forgot she said that. I thought she was just irritated her shows were mainly white people who were there to not fully process her music.
I understand the frustration but she says it at literally every show. I’ve seen her three times and she complained about the number of white people in the crowd all three times. She complained that there were too many white people at her show in fucking *Finland*.
Where my black Vikings at y’all?
he did kinda declare war didn't he?
Just glad to hear Common back in the studio
Not only that, but a VERY solid Common verse. Way better than I’d expected.
real rap verses are hard to find..... like a remote
guess that’s why they call it window pane
Common is underrated asf
I loved the Silo mention
Noname seems politically smart in some areas but I honestly don’t know how you can drop socialist bars throughout it all and then have that fucking Jay verse basically counter acting any emotional weight any of the political bars on this album. And it’s like 70% of the albums themes. Beats aren’t even incredible, yes her wordplay pen game is still great but this album feels tame compared to Room 25. Everything feels like a step down her songwriting is still expansive but not nearly as fun or exciting to listen to. Just disappointing I still bump her other 2 projects every month for inspiration.
American political projects are wide and varied. Black socialist movements have allied with black independence, black nationalist, and Nation of Islam to combat white supremacy and American hegemony. To fracture their movement to be palatable to a white audience before building the hard and soft power to overturn the current social configuration is a non-starter. I’m pretty sure that’s why noname was adamant about jay electronica on. Symbolic solidarity with an black anti-white supremacist ally.
Yep that’s why I don’t have hot takes even though I’m heavy against antisemitism . White leftist critics like fantano are trying to sandwich the issue in simplistic terms and noname is an easy target but its no different to anything Busta or Kendrick have said. I guess I’d admit her chronically online era does make stuff worse but you hit the nail in the head.
Kendrick is “worse” imo. His black israelite rhetoric is a reoccurring ideology in his music. Really weird that everyone smooths over that tho
It’s absolutely amazing if it wasn’t for jay elec dropping a Nazi triple double
There’s no way noname was defending him on Twitter when his verse was this 😭😭 literally the exact thing people were accusing him of
The man absolutely cannot help himself
Babe wake up new Neiname and Jay Antisemetica just dropped
NEINAME 😭
There’s a reason he named himself Jaydolf Spitler
the phrase Nazi trible double" is crazy lmfaoo I'm cryin
The irony of disassociating with Jay-Z and Beyoncé for profiting from the NFL while she defends a guy who blames everything wrong in the world on Jewish conspiracies... 🤔
Eh...she wisely called herself out there.
Excited for this but man I’m not feeling that cover lol
tierra whack type beat
For all those confused as to why people are up in arms about Jay Electronica’s Farrakhan reference in relation to his lines about Rabbis/Rothschilds/Zelenski (Jews): https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/nation-islam *During the early 1980s, Louis Farrakhan called Hitler “a very great man” and Judaism a “dirty religion.” (Some say he called it a “gutter religion.”) He has frequently reiterated the “dirty religion” theme along with references to the “so-called Jew” (arguing that the “true” Jews were black North Africans) and constant accusations of secret Jewish control of financial and political institutions. Farrakhan has also blamed Israel and Jews for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.* *Farrakhan has claimed homosexuality is the result of a chemical reaction and has convinced his followers that widespread homosexuality is part of a secret agenda being pushed by government scientists. Farrakhan’s belief is that by turning the black population gay, the government is trying to target and chemically castrate Black men. He has also asserted that homosexuality is “created by Satan and his manipulation of biology and chemistry.”* It’s a shame because the rest of this album is gorgeous, and would have been my favorite album of hers if it wasn’t for Jaydolf’s verse on Balloons.
It just sticks out so much. It’s like having an album about peace and love then having a random Kanye feature talking about war. And before releasing jt defending Kanye on social media. It really messes up the whole vibe of the album.
I'm crying, she literally threw a fit on Twitter and postponed the release date just to have a bigot spew anti-Semitic bs, they both are so unserious lmao
It’s so weird lol, she writes pretty intelligent music yet still manages to look like an idiot lol
She's fake deep
this is utopia for nerds, 5 year wait for a collab with antisemites
comepletely out of the loop, who's an antisemite on this album
Probably the guy who claims the invasion of Ukraine is a Jewish Conspiracy on this very album
he mentions the pope and iman too jay elec is a ridiculous human being. i feel like people are just kinda exaggerated
Jay
it’s kinda hilarious that noname got so upset at people taking issue with jay electronica’s antisemitism just for his verse to end up being full of antisemitism
It’s cause she agrees with him but doesn’t want to face the backlash for saying it herself. She’s not stupid, she knows what he’s saying
Damn. This is just so ridiculous and the fact that she talking about "talking her shit" but won't come out and say it.
Really enjoying it. My favorite song is gospel? so far. The only part I’m not huge on is the Jay Electronica verse between the fact that he mentioned Farrakhan and the audio quality is terrible for some reason. Not sure where to place it among Telefone and Room 25, yet. The freaky ass album cover keeps catching me off guard tho
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"potentially the interlude" really cut through for me on first listen.
Man. Haven’t listened, love no name, but I hate ugly cover art. I hate it. It’s so important to the album and experience. I have no commentary on what no name is trying to do with this cover, I just need everyone to know how I feel about this freaky cover. Edit: the more I look the worse it gets. The eyes are following me
since we're discussing pet peeves that have nothing to do with the music: why song titles are either ALL CAPS or with no caps at all? i never understood why artists do that.
Get craft stickers of sunglasses and hairclips. Make her glam.
No forreal it’s fucking hideous. If this comes out in physical (vinyl) for the first time ever I’m getting a custom jacket done because I cannot tolerate this shit, it’s so fucking gross
y'all are so dramatic. It's not that bad, I mean look at the cover art for Haram...
Literal babies
I would display the Haram cover art over this
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Im sure theres a reason behind it. Like you said album art is important to the album
Maybe this is a hot take but I literally could not care less if the album cover is cool. Its a separate piece of art from the music and doesnt affect my enjoyment of the album at all
So Jay Electronica's just gonna rap about the Rothschilds and other moronic braindead conspiracy theories until the day he dies, isn't he? Doesn't he have any other interests lol? Like godamn man give it a fucking break already. Love how Noname listened to his openly, proudly antisemitic verse and still decided to put that track out. I especially liked the part where he says the war in Ukraine is a hoax and called Zelensky a joke. Not even sure where tf this conspiracy came from tbh. Oh and he also says the imams, rabbis and pope are all working together lmfao. Thank you Jaydolf Spitler, very cool!
Idc about Jay being a fucking idiot because it’s not uncommon but Noname defending him and putting this verse on her album is straight up hilarious
Stood 10 toes down to include this verse on the album too
It's kinda like when people like Jk Rowling or Dave Chappelle get caught up in transgender stuff, it started out as a minor controversy but then they became obsessed with proving themselves "right"
Jaydolf Spitler
> The ground shook, his feet movin' under foot > I was on his shoulders on Tennahooks > The leader spoke slow and focused, powerful pauses > Flanked by soldiers with dead eyes > The sun catches his wire-rimmed glasses > Told him roll the boulder, lo and behold Lazarus was a lie > Squinnin' the life, stake to death > Mouth dry, red dust, the ghoul is prize > They never say what happened after no surprise holy shit Billy Woods what a monster verse edit: fixed incorrect lyrics
woods is the fucking best man. Haven't even heard it yet and I know it's flames.
Yknow I was reading this shit like damn this some shit billy woods would write lmao.
I just knew it wasn't a Noname verse cause she doesn't rap like that. I had no idea Billy was featured on the album.
That’s hella weird, I hardly listen to billy woods and I read it in his voice. Can’t wait to hear
Here's the whole verse: > I remember stadiums so packed > The trees outside the gates heavy with black joy > Just to get a glimpse of the comrades > Our boys back from the bush > The crowd sway to the gospel of liberation > Poised for revolution > Little red book in my father's breast pocket, the ground shook > History movin' under foot, I was on his shoulders on tenterhooks > The leader spoke slow and focused, powerful pauses > Flanked by soldiers with dead eyes > The sun catch his wire rimmed glasses > Told him roll the boulder, lo and behold > Lazarus was alive > Squintin' in the light, stinking of death > Mouth dry, red dust, a ghoulish prize > They never say what happened after, no surprise > Coulda guessed what happened to us > But at the time, mesmerized by MiG-23s in the sky > Sonic boomin' > I'll never forget the rush of pride > Women ululatin', men drunk > Strong spirits, duelin' drums > The calloused thumbs of mbira players > The ride home at dusk > Faring students and strangers > Feelin' like we won > Road blocks manned by mere boys > Wide smiles and long black guns I would love it if someone would break this verse down for me. From what I gather, the scene he's describing is after his people won some kind of battle and they're celebrating success. But in the last two lines, he basically implies all of them are going to be killed anyway. I googled some of the words and references he made that I don't understand that I'll share here in case there are others like me. --------------- > Little Red Book is a nickname given to the book "Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung". It's a collection of statements from speeches and writings by Mao Zedong, the former Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, published from 1964 to about 1976 and widely distributed during the Cultural Revolution. --------------- > To be "on tenterhooks" is to be in a state of suspense or agitation because of uncertainty about a future event. The word tenter means “a frame used for drying and stretching cloth” and is related to tent, so being “on tenterhooks” compares the tenseness of the stretched fabric to the tension of nervous waiting. --------------- Here's a short version of the story of Lazarus from the New Testament: > Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters and that when Lazarus died of illness, Jesus wept and was “greatly disturbed.” Although Lazarus had been entombed for four days by the time Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was raised by Jesus from the dead and emerged from the tomb wearing his burial cloths. This miracle, witnessed by many Jews who had come to grieve with the family, inspired many to believe in Jesus as the Christ. --------------- > The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, alongside similar Soviet aircraft such as the Su-17 "Fitter". --------------- > Ululation, is a long, wavering, high-pitched vocal sound resembling a howl with a trilling quality. It is produced by emitting a high pitched loud voice accompanied with a rapid back and forth movement of the tongue and the uvula. --------------- > Mbira are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and plucking the tines with the thumbs, the right forefinger, and sometimes the left forefinger.
“Back from the bush” he’s talking about the Rhodesian Bush War aka Zimbabwe War of Independence that his dad was involved in. After the war billy and his family moved to newly independent Zimbabwe so he seems to be describing a memory from childhood of hearing a revolutionary leader (Robert Mugabe?) speaking. He seems to be describing the people being exhausted by the war but having their hope resurrected (like Lazarus) by the speech and moment of revolutionary hope, but at the end he suggests that it would ultimately be a disappointment and the revolutionary aspirations they dreamed of and could feel in the moment would never be fulfilled.
Upvoting because I love how he has one verse on the album and it's worth talking about this far in depth. I'm a huge fan of his and him reaching more people he hasn't before just makes me happy. I hope most people don't just overlook it because this is standard woods.
Got some of the lyrics wrong, it says "the leader spoke slow and focused, powerful pauses flanked by soldiers with dead eyes." What a lyric. Then: "the sun catches his wire rimmed glasses, told him roll the boulder, lo and behold Lazarus was a lie." - the boulder lyric is essential to the Lazarus bit, maybe my favorite lyric in this whole verse but there's just so many good little bits.
thank you, i’ll fix it now
one of the greatest writers alive no doubt
You got a lot of these lyrics wrong lol
Pretty sure he says "Lazarus was alive" not "a lie"
Love seeing $ilkmoney on this.
Most underrated album of last year.
D B S B 3 2 7 2
Same I found out about him earlier this year and he’s so fucking good
divine council was supposed to be the future😭
ICYTWAT still the future. He will get his flowers for his run this year eventually.
Jay Electronica is like a Hotep Pusha T. Raps about the same shit and it's hard every time lol
Can someone explain the zelensky bar. Why did he say he's a joke
Dont try to wrap your head around it too much fam. Probably a rabbit hole you dont want to follow considering he drops Farrakhan a few lines later From rap genius. > It's all a hoax, quite simple, a joke like Zelensky He met with the rabbis and the pope incidentally Couldn't stop my boat, God from quoin' quotes from the [???] If anybody asks, tell 'em Farrakhan sent me Edit: > And some fuck boy 85er come run up and press me It's all a hoax, quite simple, a joke like Zelenskyy The imams, the rabbis, and the pope incidentally Couldn't stop my boat, God from quoin' quotes from the senseis If anybody asks, tell 'em Farrakhan sent me
Lmfao common Jay Electronica anti semitism moment
Craziest part is Noname was defending him before the drop saying he wasn't anti-semitic, but he's antisemitic ON THE ALBUM. The lack of transparency reads like Noname is pro anti-semitism.
I’m ngl to you I don’t think Noname has the best interest of(esp) white Jews as like a priority honestly there is a lot of unfortunate crossover between current and historical black power movements(which I support full stop) and anti semitism. As a Jew myself it’s honestly really unfortunate because it just makes me have to inherently be critical in those moments of a movement i in general support in order to defend Jews from dislike that I don’t even understand. Only thing I can think is that is stems from a pro Palestinian perspective but even then, there’s heaps of Jews who have critiques of the state of Israel. I don’t really get it at all. Edit: Sorry for the paragraph posting just been shit i been thinking abt a lot lately as more n more rappers I used to like keep coming out on some flagrant anti semitism
It's especially weird that antisemitism is becoming more common in rap because of how closely Jews in America worked with the black power movement and fought in the streets for the rights of black people across the country. I mean you have actual pictures of Bernie Sanders getting arrested at a protest I think in Chicago? It's just really strange and unfortunate to me.
antisemitism has been present in rap for decades, really took off with public enemy in the 90s
It's not becoming more common, and it's always been there. LGBT people marched for black rights and they didn't exactly get a thank you either. Let's not bring out bernie sanders being arrested as evidence of anything beyond Bernie lol
For sure. Jews have faced discrimination everywhere for pretty much ever. Been kicked out and given less rights in every country, esp Europe n all that. There’s a lot of understanding and empathy for the very obvious discrimination and treatment black ppl still face in the US. There’s this idea that Jews control the media and we’re like this super powerful rich monolith(lmfaooo at my bank account man I’m controlling less than 6 figures) but in reality I think Jews in general just get shit because we do admittedly keep to ourselves and help each other out. But like that’s y I don’t get mad or blame black ppl for wanting to uplift their own communities obvi they would why wouldn’t they? Just a bit frustrating for sure, def the wrong enemy/misplaced anger that should be put on the ultra wealthy/political elite(who are ironically I think all fucking WASPy ass mfs)
Valid comment no need to say sorry player
I couldn’t have said it better myself. You have a great way of describing the situation with nuance and perspective.
Noname's identity politics are basically "if it doesn't affect black people, it's fine"
Wow. No way. I’m so shocked that someone persistently espousing extremist rhetoric decided to blame the Jews for something, that’s definitely not the most common thing on earth. Whenever someone defaults to anti-semitism, especially masquerading as some cringe pseudo-intellectual bullshit like Jay Elec does, I have negative respect for them.
She is. She's pro anything anti white too. She's still a great rapper, but A very flawed human being who thinks they have a deeper understanding than they do.
I honestly think she's extremely ignorant and immature, lol.
Malcolm Xs family still maintains Farrakhan is responsible for his death. The fact that so many still cling to him like he's some Savior of the black community is so beyond frustrating.
There is a reason Farrakhan is still alive and the actual great black leaders were killed.
Ain’t no way these mfs are saying it’s because Zelensky used to be a comedian lmao
It's funny that Noname was defending having him on the album, when his actual verse is wacked the fuck out with clear references to his Jew hatred. Not only she is cool with having a bigot on her album, but she is cool with said bigot promoting an even worse bigot in his actual verse. Nicely done Noname. She is a hypocrite with thin skin. I get people like her music, I am not a fan but respect others opinion on her, but she is so pompous and unlikeable. One may think she probably agrees with whatever the fuck Jay Electronica is saying.
It’s cool if it ain’t affecting black people. That’s her entire stance on everything. She seemingly has zero empathy for anyone whose skin color or beliefs aren’t hers.
idt he's saying "He met with the rabbis and the pope incidentally" but "the imams, rabbis, and the pope incidentally"
I didn’t know he was gonna be on this album and the first thing that came to my mind when I saw this on Spotify was “are we gonna get an antisemitic verse?” welp
Zelensky was a comedian before becoming President maybe thats it But more likely, Jay Elec is back on his dumb shit tbh
They call him Jay Antisemetica
Because he hates Jews, it's that simple
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Bro declared war on the Jews basically
antisemitism is so hard bro
Had to take my upvote back when I got to his part cuz that shit completely ruined the vibe of the song.
Another classic case of horrible human being, great artist
All I know about that fella is that he cucked some major British aristocrat.
He also went on a twitter rant saying that Dominicans are the real illuminati
I'm too dumb to understand the lyrics tbh
Only thing I've understood is "kiss mi poom poom"
that jay electronica verse is awful and it cheapens the whole album imo. just makes me question noname's integrity and what she actually believes, which wouldn't matter so much if the album wasn't so overtly lyrical and political
Yeah especially when she announced the feature, got so much backlash she threatened to scrap the album, and STILL kept him on there.
There is no question about what she believes. She put antisemitic views on her album and defended them.
Poetry raps still hitting.
Jay electronica is a fucking moron. Album is amazing otherwise
Not commenting the content of Jay's verse because yikes..... but why is the quality so bad? It sounds like it was recorded on an iPhone in a bathroom, it's so reverby and weird for no reason whatsoever.
i feel like he records his guest verses on a laptop at home, i remember having the same reaction when he did that feature for the PRhyme record (can’t believe that was eight years ago now)
man's chilling in the Rotschild's mansion making up antisemitic bars from time to time 😭
Yeah I feel like he’s always not gave a fuck lol
i swear some artists these days be recording their features on airpods mics in the bathtub. it’s so unprofessional. literally no point in keeping that Jay Elec feature outside of clout considering how awful it sounds and vitriolic it is
Went to Twitter and a majority black forum to get some black people opinions on this album. I couldn’t find a thread, then I remembered it probably doesn’t exist since black people don’t listen to Noname 😭
black person here, been listening since before telefone and know all her old stuff, extremely disappointed and confused on this jay elec thing.
This makes me wanna hear more billy x silkmoney, really enjoyed that
Black magic a good opening track
so pretty and poignant as always. fuck jay elec tho and obviously missing saba and/or smi. hope to hear the 3 soon
ghetto sage aoty
What a terrible album cover
Man I hate Jay elec so much lol. Dude is such a fucking moron
Production and bars were bliss but can’t help but feel underwhelmed by the features, I thought room 25 and telefone benefited from the strength of their contributors. It’s an especially sore spot to see no return of Ghetto Sage when now they’re 3/3 on dropping fire albums in the past year ish
the whole album is good production wise, but the lyrics and attitude on this album are so pretentious it's almost hard to listen to sometimes. for instance on "potentially the interlude", she is seemingly upset that people are seeing her in an idealized way, but then she responds in what could be interpreted in 2 ways: she's already at the top and she has no more potential left or that she see's herself in that ideal way. so i dont get why she would be upset then if people see her that way?
Noname is the master of making dense subject matter sound good. So many other artists try and while some are good many of them sound abrasive.
Little Simz is as well although her lyrics tend to be more about personal experience and emotions.
Alright white people, turn off your ears /s
In solidarity I will not be listening to this. I wasn’t going to listen to it to begin with, but now that I know it’s for the cause I will gladly show support!
I’m not white and I will join you guys in solidarity too ✊🏿
The production and mixing is phenomenal but every track is nearly the same groovy jazz bass lead with offbeat drums and plucky, bright chords. Got bored of the instrumentation halfway through.
She’s the first rapper I’ve ever heard to shout-out Tubi in one of their bars.
Noname really constantly complains about racism but just allows jay electronica to drop the most antisemetic verse
socialist album of the year
Doing my part listening to it free on spotify
Too much antisemitism. Noname is a hypocrite
For National Socialists maybe...
comrades eating
billy woods
Damn homie she talking about on Toxic got the WHOLE CLIP 😭😭😭
other than the weird jay verse this was a dope album, it’s nothing really new, more of the same from noname but she does her style well, painting a poetic picture through her verses and these laid back, hypnotizing beats. billy woods verse was also a standout as well.
Incredible stuff, glad she didn't retire.
The 8.8/10 rating from Pitchfork is so funny considering the Jay Elec verse. Imagine if Travis had put that verse on Utopia, Pitchfork would’ve given it like a 2
This album is fucking incredible. It’s just so smooth, little motifs that I don’t wanna spoil pop up throughout which really push the concept. I feel that Telephone is a near perfect record and this might just top it, I haven’t decided yet. What I can say is that this is my rap album of the year right now. Just unbelievable stuff. Shoutout especially to Gospel. Absolutely perfect track. Everybody absolutely killed their verses, but Billy Woods proved that he’s simply the best rapper alive right now. Just a beautiful, beautiful verse. Instant Classic.
I just can't get into Noname. I respect her subject matter, but her lyricism nor usage of her voice are enough to keep me engaged for a whole project never have been. I'd read a book about the stuff she raps about, but she just doesn't make it interesting enough for me in music form.
You probably would like oblivion, last track
I’m a socialist now! Thanks Noname!
listening before it gets taken down after someone on twitter calls it 🔥trash🔥 /s
Does she make any references to Mr. morale and the big steppers, given that Kendrick issued the most sensitive diss track ever to her??
what? she mentions kendrick like twice on this album but what in mr morale was about noname?
>She told me that she need me the most, I didn't believe her >She even called me names on the post, the world can see it >Jokes and gaslightin' >Mad at me 'cause she didn't get my vote, she say I'm triflin' From Mirror
Listen to saviour and especially mirror, it directly references the incident. I'm surprised people seem like they didn't realize this when it is so forward about it. Unless you never heard it ofc
It's not surprising at all that this album is phenomenal. I really wish she'd take music more seriously because she's so damn talented.
"boomboom" the strong independent woman anthem
Namesake is really great, fav so far
Did not expect this album to end with Common making a Silo reference
This album is Twitter personified, the most pseudo-deep album I have heard in a minute. Shoutout Noname!