Through Complex, ILLROOTS introduced fans to a different side of their favorite new artists through their Portrait series. The season finale features Hip-Hop’s Rookie of the Year Chance The Rapper.
Here, the Chicago rapper candidly speaks about having a weird understanding of language, and how that ability affected his interpretation of a serious case of racism he recently experienced at the hands of a Black man.
“I had this like crazy racist encounter the other day. I was in Montreal, Canada. I think I just finished a show,” Chance recalled. After the show, things took a turn for the worst when an old African man bumped his friend Nate Fox and refused to apologize as they made their way back to tour bus.
“You could just see this intensity in his eyes, and I’m like, ‘Bro, you need to chill out.’ So I put my hands on his chest. Dude freaked out; he got super upset. And he starts called me a n***er over and over again.”
The guy reiterated that he was “born here,” while calling Chance and his friends “stupid n***ers” from America. The Acid Rap creator described the encounter as an eye opening experience, because it shed light on how some people abroad look at Black Americans. Hear the full story below.
—
Photo: Complex
