Noname performs onstage during Weekend 2, Day 3 of the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 23, 2023 in Indio, California.
Photo by Scott Dudelson for Coachella via Getty Images.
Days after the release of her new album and a month since outrage started brewing, Noname isn't backing down from her decision to keep Jay Electronica on Sundial.
On Sunday morning, the Chicago rapper posted a statement to her Instagram feed, addressing the backlash to her inclusion of the controversial rapper's verse on "balloons," despite it being charged with having antisemitic sentiment. "Here's the truth. I'm not antisemitic. I don't hate groups of people. I am against white supremacy which is a global system that privileges people who identify as white. I've been clear about this for years," the rapper wrote.
From there, however, Noname stood by her creative choice and refused to apologize for effectively signing off Electronica's words. "I'm not going to apologize for a verse I didn't write. I'm not going to apologize for including it on my album. If you feel I'm wrong for including that's fair. Don't listen. Unfollow and support all the other amazing rappers putting out dope music. Your disappointment truly means nothing to me and I say that with love," the rapper concluded.
Noname's inclusion of Jay Electronica on the album came under attack from the jump. The rapper commenced the campaign for her new album in mid-July by revealing the artwork for "balloons," which prompted an immediate critical blitz across social media. At a free show in Brooklyn on July 14th, the rapper claimed "They tried to cancel me," which is the only time she addressed the controversy prior to issuing her own statement over the weekend.
Sundial arrived, mostly to applause, three weeks later on Friday, August 11th. The Electronica verse in question didn't turn out to be the most brazen example of his generally antisemitic, acutely conspiratorial disposition. But it wasn't spotless either. "Everywhere I step foot, I leave a trail of names/Of the sons of Yakub, in a trail of flames," Electronica says in his verse, before calling former comedian and current Jewish Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a joke.
You can read the full statement from Noname below.
Statement from Noname on including Jay Electronica's verse on her album. Source: Instagram
