Hello Geniuses My name is Rob Markman and I wanna welcome
you to a special For The Record segment, in remembrance of the late Nipsey Hussle, who
was a father, son, brother, friend, entrepreneur and a dope artist.
On Sunday March 31, TMZ reported that Nipsey Hussle was shot and killed in Los Angeles
while in front of The Marathon Clothing, a store which he opened back in 2017, a store
where he employed people directly from his community.
He was 33.
I first met Nipsey 10 years ago, back in 2009 when I worked at XXL as the music editor.
Since the beginning of his career, Nipsey had an unwavering vision, and a clear sense
of who he was as a man and an artist.
With Nipsey it was never a matter of if he’d accomplish his goals, but when and the music
was only a piece of the puzzle.
In 2010, when Nipsey appeared on the XXL Freshman cover, I was at that shoot and it was one
of the most exciting days of my career, because we saw the future of hip-hop that day.
First off, I knew Nipsey was different when he pulled up with the Malcom X chain on with
all the ice.
The XXL staff dubbed him the “Most Determined” MC of his class, which included J Cole, Wiz
Khalifa, Big Sean, Freddie Gibbs, Fashawn, Donnis, Pill and OJ da Juiceman.
At that time, Nipsey was signed to Epic Records and though the deal didn’t work out, he
never let a record deal stop his progress.
He started his own label ALL MONEY IN, and continued his mission.
I remember him playing me his Marathon mixtape up in Jonny Shipes’ old studio and while
most artists would get derailed after a failed record deal, Nip was excited about his independence.
He embraced it.
And consistently rapped about it, like he did on this lyric from “Slauson and Crenshaw”
Labels used to treatin rappers like a slave, Starvin artist "just be happy with your fame
Shit changed, now it's such a different game All the people like myself is controlling
everythin’ If you pay attention see exactly what I mean
Fucc the middleman, I said that in 2003
In 2013, Nipsey bet it all on himself.
In an era where music sales were on a steep decline, Nip pressed up 1,000 copies of his
Crenshaw mixtape, and charged $100 each for each CD and launched his Proud 2 Pay campaign.
There were natural skeptics, because what type of person would spend $100 for a CD.
The $100 wasn’t just for Crenshaw, fans also got a free ticket to a show and a chance
to meet and greet with Nip.
It wasn’t just the fans who supported, Jay Z himself bought 100 copies of Crenshaw in
a show of support.
I was working for MTV News at the time and we covered this story extensively— I want
to thank Karen Civil for helping us execute that.
I remember we grabbed the video camera, went to a record store with Nipsey and give him
$100 to go shopping for some of his favorite music.
That was a fun day, something that I’d never forget.
To hear Nipsey talk about being a kid and spending all of his money on ‘Pac albums.
He was a real fan, a student of the game.
He studied the greats.
We shot that video in New York, so if I’m being honest there weren’t a great selection
of West Coast albums, but Nip still picked up music from Jay, Nas, Mobb Deep, Raekwon,
Ghostface and of course 2Pac.
And every time he picked up an album, he had a memory attached to each one.
A few years from now, there are going to be BIG artists who emerge in the game who see
Nipsey Hussle the same way he saw Jay Z and 2Pac and Snoop.
You see what Nipsey left behind was a legacy in both music and in his community.
On his records, he delivered a blueprint on how to get it against all odds.
In his community he built institutions that encouraged education, financial literacy and
black empowerment.
Nipsey Hussle was undoubtedly taken away too soon and it’s a painful reality that we
have to face.
But what we also should do is uphold his legacy, continue his mission and bump his music, because
he owned his own masters.
We gotta teach the next generation a better way.
With that we’d like to send our condolences to his children, his family, friends and all
of his fans all over the world.
Nipsey Hussle, Rest in Peace.