Since January, Fatimah has been building out a library headquarters in L.A. There are 12 local chapters in major cities like Boston, Phoenix, and London. Book-club meetups became online gatherings during the pandemic, but took place in bookstores, libraries, and community centers before it. Mostly, though, she’s spent the past two years spreading the gospel of radical thought through Noname Book Club, a monthly meetup around two texts by writers of color who reckon with inequity. Lauryn Hill personally sought her out as an opening act.įatimah hasn’t released an album since 2018, though she’s made progress on her next one, Factory Baby, and has been dropping loosies like February’s “Rainforest,” on which she two-steps with anti-capitalism over sultry guitar. But with her lyrical athleticism, brave storytelling about Black life and death, and ear for organic production, she is one of the most distinct and exciting rappers alive. Cole over their social responsibilities last summer, or when she tweeted that she wished Angela Davis got as much love as Beyoncé and insinuated that the star’s Disney+ film Black Is King is “an African aesthetic draped in capitalism,” sending the Beyhive into a minor furor.Īs a low-key rap sensation who routinely turns down photo shoots and brand deals, Fatimah doesn’t make it easy to put a face to her genius. They may be unaware of the various controversies stemming from her unflinching outspokenness - like when she got into a high-profile war of words with the rapper J. They likely missed Noname on Fallon and Colbert, likely didn’t trek to Coachella to see her perform in 2018. Her new neighbors - kind and elderly - in the historically Black but rapidly gentrifying area have been happy to see a young Black woman claim a lot on their street, but know little else about who lives next door. “Clearly, I haven’t had company,” she apologizes.įatimah purchased the Leimert Park home after about four years of living in the city, having relocated from her native Chicago. She tries to fix me a glass of ice water, fiddling with her freezer before losing a battle with the ice machine. It’s a stereotypically gorgeous June day in Los Angeles as Fatimah greets me in a loose, boxy, striped dress, her fluffy, bicep-length hair floating around her. The Private Lives of Liza Minnelli (The Rainbow Ends Here) 20 Overlooked Bob Dylan Classics Related Stories On Another 'Donda'-Less Weekend, Kanye West Uploads and Deletes Subtle Shots at Drake Hear Drake Appear to Take Aim at Kanye West With New Trippie Redd Track 'Betrayal' Related Stories Plants adorn her tall black bookshelf, packed with texts on the problems and promise of life on the margins - Black Marxism, Captive Genders, The Color Purple. In the house’s common area, stylish maroon and orange chairs offset a cerulean velvet couch. Better known as the rapper Noname, Fatimah is turning one of the bedrooms into a recording space, though it’s clearly a work in progress, with soundproofing boards leaning against walls and cartons of equipment strewn about. Fatimah Nyeema Warner has been a homeowner for two weeks, a fact she calls “a mindfuck, for sure.” Sunshine pours into the 29-year-old’s modest, comfortable home from a sliding door leading to a small, fenced-in yard.
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