Noname quits music

That's a real shame. Though I am curious how she got the predominately white crowds to begin with versus other female artists who have more mixed crowds? I mean it can't be VMP that brought her the audience, right? Interestingly enough, when she came through Dallas I debated going but then thought I'm way outside her demo (43 yrs, white, male) and I'd look like a narc or stick out like a sore thumb.
 
Sounds very similar to Dave Chappelle's hiatus from Comedy and Chappelle show. It's a shame but I think this sounds more like a hiatus than a career change for good. It must be frustrating as an artist not to feel in control or take your work in the direction you envisioned for it.
 
I absolutely find no issue with what she said because I cannot fathom what it means, as a white male, to be not only a black artist, but a black female artist in America with all the experiences she's had growing up and in her music career. If you feel you're making music for the black community, only to find your audience is completely not the demo you were hoping for, that could be very disheartening. I'd also imagine she may be coming from the position of she's up there rapping and dancing while the audience who has no idea about the experiences she's giving a voice to and are taking the music in a direction that it probably wasn't intended to be taken. I'd imagine the liberalism comment is probably hearing white people using the n-word while at her shows when she's up there rapping. Similar to when Kendrick Lamar had to remind a white girl that you can't say the N-word while rapping along with me on stage.

I will say it's interesting she felt that way given she was promoted on a medium that reaches mostly white people in VMP.
 
Sanders said:
I certainly understand what her overarching point was, and to an extent, I do agree with it. But I really don't think she tried to draw a line between her white fans who care about her message, and white fans who don't. She has no problem throwing all white people who listen to her music into a box together, in my view.

I should note that I've never listened to her music before, and I probably won't, so I'm certainly viewing this as an outsider to the whole situation.

It reminds me of when Kendrick Lamar kicked a white fan, who he invited on stage, off stage because she said the n-word while singing one of his songs. Meanwhile, the Wu-Tang Clan shared a video of a white guy covering Shame On A N****, and they had no issue with him using the word. Not the same situation, of course, but it reminded me of that parallel.
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Yeah it did seem like she totally lumped them together in those tweets.

She made another tweet or reply where she said something like "thank you to all my black and white fans who support me..." can't remember the rest of it. That's why I'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt that she didn't really mean to make it seem like she thought all white people are the same as those assholes in the front row. But, obviously, she didn't care enough in the moment about what her white fans who were confused thought to make it crystal clear.

I disagree that it's ever cool for white people covering or singing along to black artists music to use the n-word. That's just my opinion though.
 
mdmost said:
I absolutely find no issue with what she said because I cannot fathom what it means, as a white male, to be not only a black artist, but a black female artist in America with all the experiences she's had growing up and in her music career. If you feel you're making music for the black community, only to find your audience is completely not the demo you were hoping for, that could be very disheartening. I'd also imagine she may be coming from the position of she's up there rapping and dancing while the audience who has no idea about the experiences she's giving a voice to and are taking the music in a direction that it probably wasn't intended to be taken. I'd imagine the liberalism comment is probably hearing white people using the n-word while at her shows when she's up there rapping. Similar to when Kendrick Lamar had to remind a white girl that you can't say the N-word while rapping along with me on stage.

I will say it's interesting she felt that way given she was promoted on a medium that reaches mostly white people in VMP.
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We're pretty much on the same page. I think she could have done a better job trying to explain it. But I guess I also get her frustration about not wanting to explain it.

The impression I get about the "liberal" thing from following her on Twitter lately is that's become a bad word about typical Democrats from the communists that she's been self professed to be radicalized by. Edit: not sure about in that context though, I might have been confusing it with another tweet. Guess next time I want to discuss this half a week later I should take a bunch of screenshots.
 
I totally get where shes coming from but I also feel she's being ridiculous. You cant control who your art connects with and it's not like it's her white fans' fault that they are the ones responding to it. Also art has the power to spread messages and teach people about experiences outside their own so shouldn't it be a good thing its reaching outside of the expected demo?

Obviously though if she wants out then their is nothing to say about that, she shouldn't/cant be forced to do something if it's not giving her positive feelings.

And I guess I should note this is coming from a white guy so maybe I just dont have the right perspective to get what shes feeling right now
 
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dhodo said:
I disagree that it's ever cool for white people covering or singing along to black artists music to use the n-word. That's just my opinion though.
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Just for the record, I'm not saying it is cool. I don't use it, personally. But why would Kendrick bring a teenage girl on stage just to shame her for singing his song the way he wrote it? Maybe she didn't mean to say it, or maybe she doesn't understand the significance of the word, I don't know. I won't speak for her. But I think the way he handled that situation was really, really shitty of him.
 
Sanders said:
Just for the record, I'm not saying it is cool. I don't use it, personally. But why would Kendrick bring a teenage girl on stage just to shame her for singing his song the way he wrote it? Maybe she didn't mean to say it, or maybe she doesn't understand the significance of the word, I don't know. I won't speak for her. But I think the way he handled that situation was really, really shitty of him.
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The golden rule man, Treat people the way you want to be treated, it never gets old, timeless some say.

To be clear, I mean that specifically in regards to shaming a fan on stage for not understanding the significance the word still holds. I really don’t think noname has done anything wrong here, I just wish it was done with a bit more sensitivity to the white fans that aren‘t complete asshats.
 
dhodo said:
I disagree that it's ever cool for white people covering or singing along to black artists music to use the n-word. That's just my opinion though
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This conversation really lit me up this year. I totally agree that white fans shouldn't use that word even if they are singing along to song (it really isnt hard to self censor when you sing along) but at the same time straight rappers are still using the f slur in songs and getting away with it
 
Random questions I am asking myself:

Does noname want me to buy a ticket when (if ever) she comes to my town? Do I buy other releases of hers in the future? If she says that she doesn’t want to perform for a white crowd, but she has prodominantly white crowds, will people stop coming to her shows? Or will they support her more? Will this bring people together or alienate? Is there a fundamental reason she is noticing mostly white crowds? When I am singing along to rap, what word should I say when the artist says the “n” word? Or just a pause in breath? Can I even think that word in the context of a song? Should I sell my Noname record? Should I keep my Noname record?
 
scotthilk said:
Random questions I am asking myself:

Does noname want me to buy a ticket when (if ever) she comes to my town? Do I buy other releases of hers in the future?
Should I sell my Noname record? Should I keep my Noname record?
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As a bisexual person, these are questions that I have to ask myself often with regards to artists who "disagree" with homosexuality. By the same standard, they're often questions that I tend to ignore. It's a matter of where you want your money going.

One thing I always ask is "does this person have the influence to turn people against the LGBT community?" With regards to older artists (looking at you, Dave Mustaine), the answer is often no. So if I give those artists money, it's not like that can negatively affect me or my livelihood. I'm just helping an old person with minimal influence buy a 3rd or 4th or 5th home.

Noname, however, is a younger artist with a younger audience. The young people of this country will decide it's future. She has the power to help shape people's outlook on the issues she's talking about. So that's a question worth asking, in her case.

At the end of the day, it's just a Twitter "Woke" rant that's fueling a media marketing campaign for her upcoming album. Not much else to it.
 
Sanders said:
As a bisexual person, these are questions that I have to ask myself often with regards to artists who "disagree" with homosexuality. By the same standard, they're often questions that I tend to ignore. It's a matter of where you want your money going.

One thing I always ask is "does this person have the influence to turn people against the LGBT community?" With regards to older artists (looking at you, Dave Mustaine), the answer is often no. So if I give those artists money, it's not like that can negatively affect me or my livelihood. I'm just helping an old person with minimal influence buy a 3rd or 4th or 5th home.

Noname, however, is a younger artist with a younger audience. The young people of this country will decide it's future. She has the power to help shape people's outlook on the issues she's talking about. So that's a question worth asking, in her case.

At the end of the day, it's just a Twitter "Woke" rant that's fueling a media marketing campaign for her upcoming album. Not much else to it.
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Then are you advocating for a sliding scale for moral positions?
 
Tys1 said:
Not the OP, but for me... absolutely. Life is complicated. Ethics is complicated. Do you watch the show Atypical? They have a fantastic episode on an ethical dilemma that really made me feel comfortable with my decision to adopt a “sliding scale”
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Ethics are complicated. We don't often even consider the meta-ethical questions that serve as the foundation for more practical imperatives or what it means when we make a moral proposition (or if they even function as propositions w/ the potential for truth values at all). But a sliding scale is a tender way to describe a sort of moral relativism - once we land there then it becomes easy to ye or nay the morality of something based on how comfortable or uncomfortable it makes us (i.e. how much we have to deviate from what we want).

With that said, I believe we make moral quandaries out of things that don't need to be. So with Noname....I take it as a young woman feeling frustrated and venting. Do I need to feel a certain way about her music now or feel certain way about my response to what she said? I don't think so. I'll still listen to her without a second thought. I don't really think there is an issue to be made with what she said and how she feels at all from the perspective of a fan. I do, however, believe there can be a discussion of what brought her to feel that way.

I listen to artists that have made problematic statements. I buy their wares. But I have a line in the sand. I guess the sliding scale that seems odd is if it is based on a "sphere of influence". So a has-been artist or an artist with a large stage saying something that crosses that line - doesn't matter to me.

Anyway, this didn't have much to do with Noname but I'll check out Atypical.
 
Where are you guys getting that she quit music? That article just mentions that shes taking a break, and the slug doesn't even mention that, just that she doesn't want to perform for primarily white crowds anymore.
 
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