US rapper Noname has revealed that a potential retirement from music might be on the cards, explaining on social media how she’s tired of performing for “predominantly white crowds”.
If the moniker Noname isn’t familiar to you, then you would likely be aware of the music she has created. The stage name of 28-year-old Fatimah Nyeema Warner, Noname has found herself rubbing shoulders with the greats, working alongside the likes of Chance The Rapper, J. Cole, Jamila Woods, and T-Pain, to name a few.
Having been on the scene for close to a decade now, this talented musician has managed to curate quite a following all over the world. However, the racial diversity of her followers may end up spelling the end of her rap career, Noname claims.
As Consequence Of Sound points out, Noname has been sharing a number of messages on social media that claim she may quit the music game, with her constant draw of a “white audience” being cited as the reason.
Having initially shared a since-deleted Tweet from November 20th, Noname indicated she may retire from music following the release of her second album.
Claiming that “my heart isn’t fully in it anymore”, she later added that “the relationship between ‘artist’ and ‘fan’ is really fucking unhealthy” and that she doesn’t “wanna be on either side.”
However, late last week, Noname began to share another series of Twitter posts, initially posting an image of a woman in clown makeup, and captioning it by writing “me consistently creating content that is primarily consumed by a white audience who would rather shit on me than challenge their liberalism because some how liking Lizzos music absolves them of racist tendencies.”
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Another deleted Tweet followed the next day, with a photo of Morgan Freeman in clown makeup being captioned by the words, “My black fans in my mentions talkin bout ‘what your mean primarily white? We support the fuck outta u’ clearly proving they never been to a show.”
More messages soon followed, with the musician noting how artists such as DaBabay and Megan Thee Stallion constantly pull in diverse crowds, while she is forced to perform for “predominantly white crowds”, who she labelled as “people who won’t support me”.
Check out Noname’s posts:
https://twitter.com/noname/status/1200161890309222404
https://twitter.com/noname/status/1200508299470344192
https://twitter.com/noname/status/1200510834268659713
https://twitter.com/noname/status/1200513670314369026
https://twitter.com/noname/status/1200557739090546688
https://twitter.com/noname/status/1200791378013409280
As her Tweets continued, Noname contended that many artists feel the same way as her, but are fearful to speak out for fear of what it may do to their career.
“Whats funny is most black artist are just as uncomfortable performing for majority white crowds but would never publicly say that out of fear and allegiance to [money],” she wrote.
“Which isnt a bad thing necessarily cause niggas gotta eat but yall wouldnt be up and arms if I quit workn.”
While one fan assumed that this reason may be because her white fans may be more inclined to attend concerts, Noname explained that this particular audience makeup is the reason for her decision to ease off the accelerator when it comes to her music career.
“Unfortunately I’m not going to keep performing for predominantly white crowds,” she explained. “I have 2 shows on the books then after that I’m chilling on making music.
“If y’all don’t wanna leave the crib I feel it. I don’t want to dance on a stage for white people.”
While it remains to be seen whether or not Noname will indeed quit music, or even release her second album, Factory Baby, this isn’t the first time such as a thing has happened.
In fact, back in 2016, Noname shared a social media post claiming that Telephone might serve as her first and final mixtape. While that turned out to not be the case, it shows that we can never quite tell what the future holds.
Check out ‘Diddy Bop’ by Noname:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUncXbXAiV0
