Photo: Alexia Arizzabalaga

Rapper Nas has labelled US President Donald Trump a “racist” in a searing open letter. The attack comes hot on the heels of Nas’ contribution to Robin Thicke’s diss track ‘Deep’ where he called Trump a “toupee-wearing liar”.

The open letter, which appears on Mass Appeal, lambasts Trump, saying: “We all know a racist is in office. People can talk their shit… but when you have the responsibility of being President and you carry on like that, you send a strong message to people outside of your group that they ain’t worth shit.”

He continued: “My way of addressing these issues is through my work. I observe what’s going on and that goes into my creative process. The person himself, I’m not caught up with. I don’t even have time for Trump or (Vice President) Pence. I don’t give a fuck.”

He added: “My focus is on what’s happening with real people in their everyday lives. How they behave, the decisions they make, and how that affects families. I grew up in a single-parent household, so I was affected by that life. But it didn’t stop me. So I speak to the everyday people. I speak to everybody. If the people are bothered by it, I speak on it. If the people are bothered and want change, I speak on that.”

Nas went on to encourage people from minority backgrounds to challenge the status quo by participating in the democratic process and praising former president Barack Obama for creating new opportunities.

He said: “Barack Obama changed the game so that now, whether you’re a woman or Latino or whoever, you can feel that running for office can be a real goal. Winning the election could be real for someone in this country, if that’s what you want.

“As a kid, at one point I thought I wanted to go to film school. It was gonna be films or music. Steven Spielberg, George Lucas—those were big names for me coming up.”