Chicago rapper Noname starts book club featuring LGBTQ authors, writers of color

Chicago rapper Noname has started a book club featuring LGBTQ authors and writers of color.

The book club, which officially starts Thursday⁠, will feature two books per month, one “informative text” and one “creative work.” August’s picks are “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” by Paulo Freire and “We Are Never Meeting in Real Life” by Samantha Irby, a writer from Chicago.

Noname, whose real name is Fatimah Warner, tweeted that she is in the process of setting up some local chapters of the book club so readers can meet up to discuss the books.

The “Room 25” rapper said she also plans to record a podcast at the end of every month to talk about the readings.

Noname’s mother was the first black woman in Chicago to own a bookstore, she wrote on Twitter. She said her book club will honor that legacy.

Noname first gained a following with verses on Chance the Rapper’s mixtapes, “Acid Rap” and “Coloring Book.” She released her own mixtape, “Telefone,” in 2016. Her debut album, “Room 25,” came out in 2018.