J. Cole responds to backlash over new song: ‘I don’t feel well equipped as a leader in these times’

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Rapper J.Cole is responding to the backlash in the wake of the release of his new song “Snow on Tha Bluff” by letting it be known that he stands behind every word he said.

Tuesday evening, the enigmatic emcee surprised his fans with an introspective track addressing hot topics such as racism, activism, and police brutality. But many were taken aback by one part in particular where he writes about how he felt while scrolling through the social media account of a “young lady” attempting to educate the public about systemic racism.

“It’s something about the queen tone that’s botherin’ me,” he begins already setting the tone for an observation coming from an adversarial headspace.

“There’s a young lady out there, she way smarter than me / I scrolled through her timeline in these wild times and I started to read / She mad at these crackers, she mad at these capitalists, mad at these murder police / She mad at my n***as, she mad at our ignorance, she wear her heart on her sleeve / She mad at the celebrities, low-key I be thinkin’ she talkin’ ’bout me,” the North Carolina native raps on the track.

Fans quickly connected the dots and surmised that “Snow On Tha Bluff” was a passive-aggressive shot at rapper, activist, and book club organizer Noname, who has been vocal in her skepticism of her peers’ lack of response to recent protests.

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

“Poor Black folks all over the country are putting their bodies on the line in protest for our collective safety and y’all favorite top selling rappers not even willing to put a tweet up,” the Chicago artist tweeted in late May before later deleting.

And as Cole’s song got slammed by fans calling out what they believed the misogynistic and defensive tone Noname briefly tweeted “QUEEN TONE,” before deleting it. So it seems even she believed the song was directed at her.

In response, Cole tweeted, “Morning. I stand behind every word of the song that dropped last night,” then added, “Right or wrong I can’t say, but I can say it was honest.”

Morning. I stand behind every word of the song that dropped last night.

— J. Cole (@JColeNC) June 17, 2020

But the backlash may have made him see the error of his approach. He then directly addressed Noname, once again conceding that he’s not educated enough to be seen as a leader.

“Follow Noname,” he continued. “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 nigga 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. We may not agree with each other but we gotta be gentle with each other.”