The second time Opportunity comes knocking Noname says, “Opportunity knocking, a n—- just got her nails done … Granny gon’ turn up in her grave, and say, “My granny really was a slave for this? All your uncompleted similes and pages ripped
“You know they whipped us n—-s; how you afraid to rap it?” You went to heaven after so we got freedom now, Ain’t no ocean floor when you can be a Yeezus now.”
Now, her nails are wet and she doesn’t want to answer the door out of fear they will smudge or chip while answering the proverbial door. Noname is highlighting that we are constantly making up excuses for why we can’t walk into our greatness. She then discusses her lineage and ancestry by saying her grandmother is turning in her grave asking is this what her own grandmother fought for. She then also holds Noname accountable for not finishing her rhymes when her ancestors suffered greater barriers to provide future generations the opportunity to pursue their dreams. This is a subtle, yet powerful, reminder that we all come from people who have prayed, fought, survived and even thrived to create the opportunities we have today.
Finally, opportunity comes knocking a third time, “Opportunity knocking, it’s finally time to answer, the doorbell was only broken cause Auntie was fighting cancer, and cigarettes on my mantle keep calling me by first name, loving me when I’m lonely, pretending they really Noname/Know Me.”
Noname is finally ready to answer the Calling. Her calling. But her aunt becomes ill, and it shakes to her very core. She is not in a position to answer the door because of the illness that struck her family. When I first listened to this verse, I immediately thought of my dad. I was blessed with an opportunity to work for first lady Michelle Obama on a seven-day trip. On my first day at this new job, my dad died. I thought it was some sort of God trick because I prayed for a job to pay for my dad’s chemo. I finally started an opportunity that
could help me pay for chemo treatments, and he died before I received a paycheck.
In the next part of the verse, Noname is fighting her vice, cigarettes, which appear to calm her down when she’s anxious or has hit a wall. The cigarettes are calling her name and pretending they know and love her, but they don’t. In the pursuit of our dreams, when faced with great obstacles and tragedy, you either fly off the deep end and visit your vices — or you get your life all the way together and seize opportunity.
How many times has opportunity knocked on your door, but out of fear of failing, you decided to play it safe? Many times, we can find ourselves playing small out of a fear that we may fall flat on our face. But maybe we are more afraid that we may soar higher than we ever expected.
During this Women’s History Month and beyond, I urge you to listen to the whispers, the calling that God wakes you up about in the middle of the night, the gift you have that flows easy like water, the “Grammy that seems way too lofty,” and answer the door.
—julie wenah is a lawyer by day and at nights and on the weekends is the creator of The Album and The Mixtape, a movement committed to exploring storytelling and healing through bars. She is a hip-hop storyteller, mathematician, proud Houstonian by way of Nigeria, Obama alum, and most importantly, a Jesus lover/worshipper/glorifier.
