(JTA) — The Grammy-nominated rap star B.o.B. in his new song offers support for Holocaust denier David Irving, along with reiterating a claim made on Twitter that the earth is flat.
The track, released Monday two days ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day in response to a Twitter argument with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson about the shape of the earth, focuses primarily on Simmons’ conviction that the earth is not round.
In the second verse of his stream-of-consciousness and wide-ranging lyrics, B.o.B., whose real name is Bobby Ray Simmons Jr., urges listeners to “Do your research on David Irving.”
“Stalin was way worse than Hitler,” the song continues. “That’s why the POTUS gotta wear a kippah,” presumably referring to President Barack Obama wearing the traditional Jewish head covering.
The rapper has released top-selling singles in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
Irving, a notorious British Holocaust denier, has spoken at numerous neo-Nazi rallies and famously (and unsuccessfully) sued Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt for libel.
READ: Denying the deniers: Q&A with Deborah Lipstadt
A movie about the trial, which Lipstadt published a book about, is in production, with Academy Award-winner Rachel Weisz playing the author.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.