Leave it to Nas to properly summarize the Hip-Hop community’s thoughts over the horrific Charleston church shooting.
While on the red carpet of Mass Appeal’s Fresh Dressed premiere at SVA Theater in New York City yesterday, June 18, Vibe magazine’s Mikey Fresh asked the Illmatic One to shed some light on the situation and he went all in off the top of his brain.
“Mental illness is something that I wish we could detect earlier on…detect that and vaccinate it at birth,” Nas replied. “Racism is rotting America. It’s been rotting America since America’s inception. So this is a very serious time that we’re moving into in 2015.”
The legendary rapper is no stranger to combating racism dead in the eye. His 2008 album was released without a title after he attempted to label it Nigger before the powers that be shut it down. Nonetheless, he has always remained one of the culture’s leading voices for social awareness on race matters.
“We have to live our life in this zoo. How do we heal the people that are mentally ill today?, he continued. “How do we make them more respectful of each other no matter what race they are? Racism is rotting America. It’s been rotting America since [its] inception. So this is a very serious time that we’re moving into in 2015.”
After a 14-hour manhunt, 20-year-old Dylann Roof was captured 250 miles away from the crime scene and charged with nine counts of murder for the Charleston church shooting. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Watch Nas give his thoughts on the Charleston church shooting in the video below. God bless the families as well.
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Photo: Alberto Reyes/WENN.com
