Chicago rapper Noname seems to be much more interested in activism than music these days. After opening the Radical Hood Library in Los Angeles last autumn, she insinuated that she was done with music, apologizing to fans for stringing them along regarding her long-awaited third studio album, Factory Baby. However, just a few weeks later, she posted a photo from her home studio, musing in the caption that “maybe 30 is too young to retire.”
If that was an encouraging sign for longtime fans hoping that Noname would rediscover her spark for music, then her latest post should have them feeling ecstatic — or at least cautiously optimistic. In a new post, Noname announced that she’d be performing again for the first time since before the pandemic before releasing the album. In the caption she gave her reasoning, which fluctuated between exasperated obligation and outright bravado. “First i’ll play a few shows because my mortgage doesn’t care about my politics,” she wrote. “Then i’ll drop an album because it seems like people forgot i’m that bitch.”
The first show in question will be at the upcoming Afropunk festival in Minneapolis on June 19, where she’ll join a lineup including Ari Lennox, Mereba, Sango, and Pink Siifu. Then, I guess we’ll see what happens.
