Nas on Charleston Massacre: “Racism Is Rotting America”

At the red carpet of premiere for the hip-hop documentary Fresh Dressed, Nas spoke on the recent shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C. (June 17) that left nine innocent people dead.

“Mental illness is something that I wish we could detect earlier on...detect that and vaccinate it at birth,” said Nas  "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."Before making his exit, the legendary MC offers his condolences and prayers to the families of those slain.

Nas is one of a number of artists who have made statements following the Charleston tragedy. Killer Mike argued that violence could be avoided or curbed if more people were armed. Charlamagne Tha God, who was born Charleston, spoke with XXL and said even though tension is high in America he was still shocked the shooting happened.

"Yes, it actually does," he said "You see so many different situations where there’s police brutality, and you see the Black and White narrative there. As a young Black man in America, there’s enough to deal with. When I heard about the situation in Charleston, my first thought was, I hope it wasn’t racially-motivated. I was hoping it was just an isolated incident from a psychopath, because the last thing we need on top of everything else that’s going on in this country is racially-motivated hate crimes from civilians. It’s not like we need any more reminders that being Black in this country is a direct threat to our lives. I’m like, "Yo! This was in my own backyard!"