Noname Apologizes After “Song 33” Release: “My ego got the best of me"

The rapper, whose real name is Fatimah Nyeema Warner, took to Twitter to issue her apology. "I've been thinking about it and i am not proud of myself for responding with song 33," Noname began. She explained trying to use the song to draw attention back to the issues she cares about, but that she "didn't have to respond." She added that her ego got her best and apologized for "any further distraction this caused."

In the following tweet, she also noted that Madlib, the American DJ, "killed that beat," and she sees many people resonating with the words she said. The rapper then said that she would donate her share of the song's earning to various mutual aid funds.

"Black radical unity," her tweet concluded.

i've been thinking a lot about it and i am not proud of myself for responding with song 33. i tried to use it as a moment to draw attention back to the issues i care about but i didn't have to respond. my ego got the best of me. i apologize for any further distraction this caused — Noname (@noname) June 21, 2020

Fans and Colleagues Express Support for Noname

Fans quickly responded to show support, with one fan writing: "Honestly feel like you had every right." Writer and activist Raquel Willis also weighed in on the apology. She wrote: "Your feeling are valid, but so many Black women felt vindicated by your fire. You deserve to defend yourself and use your gift to buck the patriarchy, even when many don't fully understand." 

Meanwhile, fellow writer Morgan Jenkins said that Noname did what she had to do. Jenkins added that the song wasn't a "distraction at all but a reminder of the work that you are putting in and yet still needs to be done."

You did what you had to do. It wasn't a distraction at all but a reminder of the work that you are putting in and yet still needs to be done. — Morgan Jerkins (@MorganJerkins) June 21, 2020

Gun control advocate, political advisor, and photographer Matt Deitsch also supported the rapper's decision. Deitsch encouraged her by saying that her "public vulnerability in itself is revolutionary. you got many unengaged to tune in and there's a lot of power in that. [reckoning] on how to use your power to me is modeling moral leadership."

Song References and Hurting Egos

Fatima Warner's apology follows the release of "Song 33," which became widely believed as a swipe against J. Cole. Two days before Noname's song, the male rapper from North Carolina released the surprise track "Snow in tha Bluff." The J. Cole track tackles racism and police brutality, as well as explaining Cole's supposed inactivity during the Black Lives Matter protests.

However, other lines in the song, including "I'm on some "F**k a retweet," most people is sheep" and "You got all the answers but how you gon' reach?" have led to speculations that Cole was going after the female rapper. Fans believed that this line referred to a now-deleted tweet by the female artist.

J. Cole also said in the song: "Just 'cause you woke, and I'm not, that s**t ain't no reason to talk like you better than me."

In "Song 33," a minute-long track, Noname raps: "But ni**as in the back quiet as a church mouse./ Basement studio when duty calls to get the verse out." She then threw jabs fans though were aimed at J. Cole. "He really 'bout to write about me when the world is in smokes?"

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