Kanye West has suggested a payment of a million dollars for everyone who has a baby if he becomes the next US president.
In a lengthy speech to an audience in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday, the rapper spoke about topics such as abortion, religion and international trade.
He said abortion should be legal but financial incentives for struggling mothers could lower the demand for it.
The rapper is married to reality TV star Kim Kardashian West
As an example, he said: “Everybody that has a baby gets a million dollars.”
West cried when describing how he was nearly aborted by his parents: “There would have been no Kanye West, because my dad was too busy.”
He added: “I almost killed my daughter… even if my wife were to divorce me after this speech, she brought North into the world, even when I didn’t want to.”
Gospel music was played for the crowd of hundreds before West walked out wearing a protective vest and with “2020” shaved on his head.
He spoke about his mother, who died from complications of plastic surgery in 2007, and he criticised civil rights figure Harriet Tubman who he said “never actually freed the slaves she just had them work for other white people”.
The latter comment prompted shouts of dissent from some of those in the crowd.
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Tubman was an African American who helped enslaved black men and women escape to freedom. She remains a respected figure of 19th century America.
West, 43, had been a keen supporter of President Donald Trump but he announced his own candidacy for the top job on 4 July, with billionaire Elon Musk among his early supporters.
At the time West had tweeted: “We must now realise the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States.”
It was not the first time that West had announced a presidential bid.
The rapper – who is said to have a net worth valued at $1.3bn (£1.05bn) – told a crowd at a New York business festival last year that he would run for president in 2024.
And at MTV’s Video Music Awards in 2015, West said he had “decided in 2020 to run for president”.
However, it is still not clear whether he is serious or whether the whole thing is a publicity stunt.
He missed the deadline to qualify for the ballot in many states and nobody is sure whether he can get enough signatures to qualify in others.
He qualified last week to appear on the Oklahoma ballot but he needs 10,000 signatures by noon on Monday to appear in South Carolina.
