Nas Speaks on the Charleston Church Shooting Incident

The mass murder of nine people on Wednesday night at Charleston’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church was a shocking tragedy for everyone. After being arrested 245 miles away in Shelby, North Carolina, the suspect, Dylann Roof, is currently held in custody. In a conversation with VIBE during the premiere of the upcoming hip-hop/fashion film Fresh Dressed, Nas shares his opinion on the situation, as well as the bigger issue of mental illness and racism in America. Read it and watch the video below.

“Mental illness is something that I wish we could detect earlier on — from birth. So we don’t have to worry about who’s who? Who are we walking around? Who are the people that we are living around us that are sick? That really need help. We have to live our life in this zoo. How do heal the people that are mentally ill today? How do 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.
Prayers to the families and family [members] that had to witness such a horrific [thing.] My prayers are with y’all.”