Royce 5’9” Says It’s OK to Be Racist

Royce 5’9” is not afraid to call out people who he believes are racists.

However, in a Level interview that was published on Thursday (Feb. 13), Royce said it’s OK to be racist. The rap veteran explained that a person being a racist isn't the end of the world.

"We need to start being OK with not agreeing on everything. It’s all right to not agree," he stated. "It’s even all right to be racist. I’m not the racism police. I’m very aware that I have to guard my energy. I can’t put myself in the position where I’m getting upset all the time at the way that somebody views me. The only thing that I demand is respect. That’s it. I can have dinner with a racist person as long as you’re not disrespecting me. People just get so uptight when you want to start talking about the tough topics. Everybody ignoring it is not going to make it go away!"

Elsewhere in the interview, Royce explains why his friendship with Eminem helped him overcome his own prejudice against White people.

"It goes both ways. I talked to him about a lot of things that I went through in Oak Park, the racist shit that happened to me that started when I was young and didn’t understand," he explained. "We both came to a very clear understanding. I feel like God put him in my life to teach me that it’s not cool to generalize. Because if it wasn’t for Marshall Mathers, I don’t think I would like Whites — and on the flip side, if it wasn’t for Proof, I don’t think he (Eminem) would’ve liked Black people. He assumed Black people didn’t like him, because they used to beat him up. God places people in your life for a particular reason. Marshall restored my faith in people. It’s not really about converting people; it’s just about gaining understanding."

Royce is currently promoting his upcoming new project The Allegory, which is set to drop on Feb. 21. The album features guest appearances from Conway The Machine, Westside Gunn, Benny The Butcher, Grafh and more.

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