It is in no way subtle (Nipsey: “You build walls, we gon’ probably dig holes”), and it didn’t need to be. “FDT” was the necessary reaction that already existed. Protest art is valuable, but it gets tricky when you start viewing it as a positive outcome of a bad situation, instead of a necessary reaction. In the days after Trump’s election, there was a lot of talk about the political art that could rise up to combat the president’s rhetoric. A plain and to-the-point track that detailed the awfulness of an awful person. Eventually, though, Crenshaw saw a wider release, and while there are plenty of great moments, it’s worth listening to the low-key “Summertime in That Cutlass,” a violent and nostalgic elliptical narrative that showcases the type of disjointed but compelling storytelling that Nipsey excelled at.Īt the time of its release, Donald Trump was not yet president, so YG and Nipsey Hussle’s “ FDT” (if you somehow have not heard it, “FDT” stands for “Fuck Donald Trump”) felt like a warning. He was making a point about converting fan following into monetary support of the art, and to be fair, on the first go-around, the price of the album also included a concert ticket and a bunch of other extras. Nipsey made only 1,000 copies, and sold them for $100 apiece. If you missed Crenshaw the first time around, you’d be forgiven. “Summertime in That Cutlass,” Crenshaw (2013) That has - thankfully - changed, due in no small part to Nipsey Hussle. At the time of its release, national attention was decidedly not trained on the artists coming out of Los Angeles. It’s also impossible to overstate how it felt hearing “Hussle in the House” for the first time. Lines like “And in my lifetime, I seen a lot of death / A couple cold nights, it look like it was nothing left” tell you everything you need to know about where he’s coming from. Nipsey’s rasp is biting, and he’s writing with economy. To get it out of the way, “Hussle in the House,” one of Nipsey Hussle’s earliest singles, prominently features the G-funk synth whine from Kriss Kross’s megahit “ Jump.” But unlike “Jump,” which capitalized on the dominant rap trends of its time, “Hussle in the House” is pure and unfiltered. “Hussle in the House,” Bullets Ain’t Got No Name 2 (2010) All of it is worth going back and exploring for yourself this is merely a starting point. With that in mind, here is a guide to just a small microcosm of Nipsey’s music. rap history, and so intent on carrying it forward with a reverence and genuine love of what came before.
Offering a comprehensive guide to the artist is impossible: Do you recommend the songs that led to his 2018 Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album? Do you go back to the earliest hits? The ones like “Hussle in the House” that came at a time when the music industry was largely ignoring the glut of talent that Los Angeles had to offer? Do you pick a few close, personal favorites? All of these endeavors are worthwhile, but none of them could paint the full picture of a rapper so rooted in L.A. He leaves behind a sprawling back catalogue: Loose singles and guest features and compilations and mixtapes and albums - some of which he sold at exorbitant prices to make a point about the importance, the inherent value of music - are scattered throughout streaming services. It was already clear in his music that he cared about where he was from, but his actions sharpened that love. In the coming days, weeks, and months you will read a lot about his efforts to improve the neighborhoods he loved, to help people who needed it. He was an artist who gave back what he had as soon as he could. Nipsey, besides being a renowned rapper, was known for the ways he invested resources into his community. Yesterday, rapper Nipsey Hussle was killed in front of the Marathon, a store he owned in the Los Angeles neighborhood Hyde Park.