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Noname addresses Jay Electronica’s antisemitism verse

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London, UK
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Last week, rapper and musician Noname released her second studio album, ‘Sundial’. Jay Electronica features on the third track ‘balloons’, spouting antisemitism. Noname has responded saying that listener disappointment doesn’t faze her.

Chicago rapper and poet Noname released her second studio album ‘Sundial’ last week. She has received sizeable criticism for her inclusion of an antisemitic verse by Jay Electronica.

Known for her jazzy instrumentals and neo soul influences, Noname is considered a significant artist within Chicago’s hip hop scene. She found widespread success in 2016 with her debut mixtape ‘Telefone’ and is part of a musical group called Ghetto Stage. This is a trio between Noname and two fellow artists, Saba and Smino.

Following her 2018 album ‘Room 25’, she would go on to create the Noname Book Club, which focuses on and discusses uplifting texts by POC voices.

However, despite her commercial and critical success, Noname has been at the centre of several controversies since 2019. Toward the end of that year, she said she was ‘considering quitting music’ and felt frustrated that her fanbase was predominantly white. She also engaged in a back-and-forth with J Cole following criticism of her in his track ‘Snow on tha Bluff’.

With the announcement of Noname’s third record ‘Sundial’, she once again faced pushback from both listeners and the wider music industry for including a feature from notorious antisemite Jay Electronica. She posted a series of tweets defending his inclusion before deleting her Twitter account two days later. Upon the album’s release, Jay’s verse on the third song ‘balloons’ was widely scorned for being antisemitic and ‘hateful propaganda’.

Noname’s response was blunt and concise. She wrote in an Instagram story that she was ‘not going to apologise for a verse I didn’t write’, also adding that any disapproval ‘truly means absolutely nothing’ to her.

Regardless of whether you enjoy Noname’s artistry or not, Jay’s inclusion on ‘Sundial’ is another recent case of antisemitism being given a global platform within music.

The most notorious example of blatant Jewish hate in the past twelve months has come from Kanye West, who shocked and saddened many with aggressive anti-Jewish sentiments and praise for Hitler. Adidas dropped his Yeezy line – at the cost of $2 billion USD – and his appearance on Alex Jones’ InfoWars was a new low in his long and troubled history with mental health.

Antisemitism has long existed in hip-hop music. Lyrics dating back to the eighties and nineties allude to Jewish conspiracies – Ice Cube and Tupac being two notable examples – and it remains a prevalent, underlying theme within music.

Noname can’t be surprised at the pushback considering her alignment with leftist politics and socialist ideals. She has spent many years championing liberalist perspectives and has cultivated a fan base that is socially aware and follows alternative culture.

As long as antisemitism is given a public platform, hostility toward Jewish communities will be continually validated. Artists must hold accountability for the work they put out. Sure, Noname didn’t write the verse, as she insists. Her approval and endorsement of Jay is responsibility enough, however, and as long as she is willing to back artists that promote bigotry she shouldn’t be taken particularly seriously.

‘Sundial’ is a decent enough album, and Noname is a talented rapper, musician, and poet. Unfortunately her tolerance of bigotry in this case has dampened the buzz around her latest project. Antisemitism shouldn’t be given the space to breathe – no matter who is spewing it.

Editor In Chief London, UK

I’m Charlie (He/Him), the Editor In Chief at Thred. I studied English at the University of Birmingham and as a music and gaming enthusiast, I’m a nerd for pop culture. You can find me curating playlists, designing article headline images, and sipping cider on a Thursday. Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn and drop me some ideas/feedback via email.

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