Kanye West is never one to bite his tongue, but for once, the outspoken rapper didn’t say a word during his visit to the Occupy Wall Street protest on Monday (Oct. 10). Russell Simmons enlisted support from the hip-hop superstar, who attracted a crowd as he walked the streets of New York City. Hordes of people have camped throughout the financial district to fight against social and economic inequality, corporate greed, and the influence of the very wealthy on government.

The Def Jam co-founder spoke to the media as a tired looking West stood by his side.

“Kanye has been a big supporter spiritually to this movement and he’s just here to stand with the people,” he told reporters. “He’s not with the politics of it, doesn’t want to make a statement, didn’t want to do any media at all actually, but he’s here and there’s almost no way around it.

“He’s here in support of the people. As an artist, he feels artistic people and he feels what they’re doing. And he understands this idea about getting the money out of government and letting the people govern. He wants to give power back to the people.”