For the first time in the show’s history, Comedy Central’s “The Nightly Show” featured a live music performance. Singer and rapper Raury was the artist chosen for the honor, and justifiably so. The show’s host, Larry Wilmore, has rightfully dedicated much of his content to current issues of race relations in the United States and abroad, including several segments on the Black Lives Matter movement, President Obama’s experiences with racism, and the experiences of guests on the show (Ice-T once shared his experience being wrongfully accused of possessing a bomb).

With that framework in mind, Raury became a wonderful fit for the show, which he proved last night not once, but twice. First, Raury took part in the show’s panel discussion, where he discussed the problems of systemic racism along with regular contributor Mike Yard and comedian Natasha Rothwell. He made several insightful statements, including how persistent and insidious racism can be. “It goes all the way back to things like ‘The Lion King,’ where [Scar] is the Black, bad guy…there’s always been these little things that set the innuendo.”

After the engaging discussion, Raury stepped into his more common role, that of the artist. He performed “Fly,” a poignant track  from his latest album, All We Need. The song’s opening lyrics echoed the sentiments covered throughout the entire episode, and the stripped-down, soulful performance really brought the message home. “I’m afraid I’ll die and you can look at me and never wonder why. ‘Cause I’m Brown and young and my hair is nappy,” he sings. Watch the important performance below, and purchase the album on iTunes.

Related: One Of Raury’s First Televised Performances Proves He’s Ready For Primetime (Video)