Noname: 'Rap Is Curated And Presented To Us By White Elites'
Hip-hop and rap music have seemingly dominated the charts for the last few years since the musical genres emerged as the number one consumed genre across America in 2017. In that same timeframe, a multitude of newcomers have had their breakthroughs alongside rap greats making successful comebacks. The next goal of entering rap’s pantheon has steadily become for rappers to launch their own label imprints.
On Friday (Oct. 4), 2 Chainz announced that his T.R.U. label has partnered with Atlantic in a new venture, which puts him alongside Top Dawg Entertainment, Young Thug’s YSL Records, Drake’s OVO, and more. As a testament to rap’s influence, the NFL recently inked an entertainment and social justice deal with Jay-Z.
While there’s a lot to celebrate in rap at the moment, Chicago rapper Noname took to Twitter on Sunday (Oct. 6) to air some of her thoughts on the current state of the rap industry. Although soft-spoken, Noname has never shied away from speaking out critically against the music industry.
In a thread of tweets, the Room 25 rapper dropped some revelations about the inner workings of the music industry and her experience as an independent artist.
'Rap is curated and presented to us by white elites,' she tweeted.
The Chicago MC cautioned that while Black culture is getting media attention, it doesn’t mean it’s from a place of mutual respect. It’s just a means to an end for companies looking for profit off of Blackness.
“It has legitimized and enriched several publications that depend on Black culture for content. Between radio and streaming playlists, they’ve decided what type of rap is profitable for mainstream.”
“Liberation isn’t profitable. Always question where your content comes from,” she continued.
“Remember guys, most black labels are imprints on multi-billion dollar companies. Mainstream music is owned by 5 companies.”
It’s not clear what prompted her tweets, but we will update this story as it develops.
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