Kanye West performs powerful freestyle for Charleston: "See that’s the magic of racism, it works on itself"

West headlined Hot 107.9's Birthday Bash this weekend and used the platform to address the Charleston shooting

Published June 22, 2015 3:44PM (EDT)

Kanye West                (AP/Lionel Cironneau)
Kanye West (AP/Lionel Cironneau)

Kanye West headlined Hot 107.9's Birthday Bash in Atlanta this weekend and used his platform to address the mass shooting at Charleston, S.C.'s historic black church.

Mid-set, West launched into a two-minute freestyle that took on modern racism and racially-motivated violence.

“I think there’s a couple more things that they owe us,” he repeated during his performance. “Don’t let them make you believe that I’m crazy.” West continued: “See that’s the magic of racism, it works on itself/ We hate each other, screw each other, kill each other/ When we can’t kill nobody else/ See that’s the magic of lack of resources, it works on itself."

Many other rappers joined West in speaking out about the Charleston shooting this weekend. Killer Mike said on Twitter that " what happened [... was] an act of terror committed by a terrorist, simple and plain" and that he wished the "folks in that church had been armed.” Lupe Fiasco, in a three-part Instagram letter titled "Dear White Supremacy," wrote "There is nothing about you biologically or physically that denotes an innate mode of supremacy."

Watch the fan-captured footage of West's performance below:


By Colin Gorenstein

Colin Gorenstein is Salon's assistant editor of internet and viral content. Follow @colingorenstein or email cgorenstein@salon.com.

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Charleston Kanye West Video