Nas wrote an open letter to America on Instagram, questioning why Hip Hop culture is so glorified yet people from the streets feel threatened and unwelcome.

“This is BIGGER than BLACK and WHITE,” the Illmatic rapper writes under a picture of the American flag. “This is about America selling a false dream.”

Nas continues by saying that America exploits street culture.

“As a Black man, I find it difficult to understand that our biggest export (our American culture) comes from us,” he says. “The people in the streets… The way the world dresses, talks, what they listen to, what they watch… That all comes from us. How can we be the ones responsible for America’s biggest export & fear for our lives like we shouldn’t be here.”

Nas also responded to the AME Emanuel Church shooting that left nine dead. He said that “racism has rotten America.”

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