Noname challenges the Black community to claim ownership of its culture

Noname issued a plea today (Jan. 22) for Black Americans to claim ownership over their most precious natural resource: Culture.

The “Reality Check” artist said there is not a single facet of creativity that does not make white-led corporations wealthy without acquiring work from Black culture. As a result, in a since-deleted Instagram post, she declared it is time to stop selling “the ONLY natural resource we have to white and non-Black corporations. Black culture should be collectively owned by Black people.”

On Thursday (Jan. 19), she issued a similar call to action. In an Instagram post, she suggested Black artists begin gatekeeping to disrupt economic and racist exploitation. In her carousel of messages, she wrote, “As Black artists making Black art, we have a responsibility to our community and to our culture.”

She continued, “I understand needing to survive under capitalism, but there is power in collective action! What would it look like if we all said, ‘Unless festivals, streaming [and] social media [put] 10 percent of their profits into a Black community fund [that] we use to house and feed people, we will no longer contribute our content?'”

The Chicago-bred lyricist noted while she is among the list of artists slated to appear at Coachella in April, she is only doing so because she needs money and would rather be able to rally with others to effect positive, lasting change for the betterment of the Black community. “Trust, I’m not above anybody, but if there was a collective boycott where ALL Black artists refuse to share our work unless we see radical change in our conditions, I would immediately do that s**t,” continued the post.

In the past, Noname has been praised by J. Cole for being outspoken about causes that impact Black people. “I love and honor her as a leader in these times. She has done and is doing the reading, the listening and the learning on the path that she truly believes is the correct one for our people,” tweeted the Dreamville Records founder in 2020.

View her remaining post below.