Rapper Killer Mike is a socially conscious artist who doesn’t draw a line between his politics and his art. And he has the artist’s memorable way of expressing political beliefs, too. Here’s Killer Mike on the Confederate flag: “I don’t think that the flag of any loser nation should hang above the nation of winners.”

Killer Mike recently backed firebrand Vermont socialist Bernie Sanders for president. Sanders has been turning out numbers his rivals previously thought unthinkable — and his message against mass income inequality is resonating far and wide. But besides agreeing with Sanders’ key campaign themes (like the restoration of the voters rights act), Killer Mike has another big reason for backing Bernie. It has to do with the essence of a democratic republic, and how leadership in one functions. Killer Mike says: “I cannot support another Clinton or Bush ever…I am beginning to see American political families like monarchs and I have no affection for monarchs.”