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In this episode of ILLROOTS Portraits, Chance The Rapper talks about a racial encounter he had in Montreal while on tour. The Chicago MC says he finished up his show and was heading to his tour bus when a man outside started to harass him and a friend. "My boy Nate Fox was standing next to me and this old African dude just walked straight into his back," he states. "You could just see this intensity in his eyes. I'm like 'Bro, you need to chill out.' So I put my hand on his chest, dude freaked out."
"He starts calling me a nigga over and over again," says Chance. "He's like, 'Nonigga, you stupid nigga.'" The man continued to spew hate toward the rapper, who later realized why all this was happening. "The point that he was trying to prove, we were black Americans, which he equated with niggas. Which he equated with stupid niggas. It was just this belittling thing I hadn't been exposed to because I hadn't travelled." Chance explains the troubling experience has given him a better understanding of the power of words.
Chance The Rapper is currently on the "Social Experiment" tour with remaining show dates listed on his official website. If you enjoyed this episode, check out Ro Ransom's recent spotlight on ILLROOTS Portraits below.
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