Nasty Nas speaks on the white male who killed nine innocent people Wednesday evening (June 16) after he opened fire at the Emanuel Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Arrested without incident 245 miles away in Shelby, North Carolina, Dylann Roof is now in custody – but the pain he caused will forever live on.
Effected by the tragic news, Nas voiced his opinion on the matter during a brief chat with VIBE at the premiere of the upcoming hip-hop/fashion film Fresh Dressed.
“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.”
However, he didn’t offer up his opinions about the lack of mental health care in America as an excuse for the heinous murders. Instead he helped shed light on a huge issue in this country that oft gets ignored.
“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 yall,” says Nas with a heartfelt conviction.