The rising rapper from the Dominican Republic launched her debut album Autodidacta last year, earning a Latin Grammy nod for its title track
J Noa is releasing her frustrations on her newest single.
On Thursday, the Dominican hip-hop star — which Rolling Stone named as one of the “19 Latin Acts We’re Rooting for in 2024” — released her newest single “Era de Cristal,” which hears her rap about her mental health issues and fight through her vulnerabilities.
The rising rap star reflects on her past and childhood, and begs to become free of her thoughts as she “watches the night fall into the sky.”
“For me, it was important to touch on this very personal topic that people do not understand,” she told Remezcla about the track. “A person with depression cannot be ignored. I felt that I needed to talk about this topic because I have gone through it and I also felt ignored when I needed help.”
The video jumps between clips of the musician rapping from her messy bedroom and images of her floating in a dark pool of water.
“I feel like I came to revive rap,” she told Rolling Stone last year. “To me, most rappers should be intentional about what they write, about what they recite. Otherwise, why would rap serve them, or why would they be considered rappers if they don’t live the reality of what they’re rapping about?”
The single is J Noa’s first release of 2024. It follows track “Spicy,” and her debut album Autodidacta, which Rolling Stone ranked as No. 7 on its list of 50 Best Spanish-Language Albums of 2023.
“The title track, which earned a Latin Grammy nomination this year, is adorned with nothing but a sparse beat. Yet J Noa goes hard and makes her presence known, announcing to the world exactly who she is,” read a review of the LP.
