J. Cole responds to claims he called out Noname in his new song "Snow on Tha Bluff"

Last night (16 June), J. Cole returned with "Snow on Tha Bluff", his first track since last year's "MIDDLE CHILD".

In the song, J. Cole raps about "a young lady out there, she way smarter than me", and adds that "She mad at these crackers, she mad at these capitalists, mad at these murder police / She mad at my n****s, she mad at our ignorance, she wear her heart on her sleeve / She mad at the celebrities, lowkey I be thinkin' she talkin' 'bout me."

Elsewhere in the song, he says "it's something about the queen tone that's botherin' me", and raps, "Just 'cause you woke and I'm not, that shit ain't no reason to talk like you better than me / How you gon' lead, when you attackin' the very same n****s that really do need the shit that you sayin'?"

Some fans thought it was a response to Chicago artist Noname calling out "y'all favourite top selling rappers" for not posting anything on social media in relation to the Black Lives Matter protests.

J. Cole has since responded to the speculation on Twitter, writing, "Morning. I stand behind every word of the song that dropped last night."

On whether his track was directed at Noname, J. Cole responded, "Right or wrong I can’t say, but I can say it was honest."

Right or wrong I can’t say, but I can say it was honest.

— J. Cole (@JColeNC) June 17, 2020

The "Snow on Tha Bluff" rapper adds, "Some assume to know who the song is about. That’s fine with me, it’s not my job to tell anybody what to think or feel about the work. I accept all conversation and criticisms."

Let me use this moment to say this

— J. Cole (@JColeNC) June 17, 2020

He then goes on to direct a tweet at Noname, writing, "Follow Noname. I love and honor her as a leader in these times. She has done and is doing the reading and the listening and the learning on the path that she truly believes is the correct one for our people. Meanwhile a n***a like me just be rapping. I haven’t done a lot of reading and I don’t feel well equipped as a leader in these times. But I do a lot of thinking. And I appreciate her and others like her because they challenge my beliefs and I feel that in these times that’s important."

I haven’t done a lot of reading and I don’t feel well equipped as a leader in these times. But I do a lot of thinking. And I appreciate her and others like her because they challenge my beliefs and I feel that in these times that’s important.

— J. Cole (@JColeNC) June 17, 2020