By : Auditory Aura
I will just say this upfront — this album is one of my favorites that have been released in the past few weeks. Even though I’m just now getting the chance to sit down & write about it, best believe this has been in rotation. Nipsey has been grinding for years, but for this to be his debut album, you can tell that major work was put into creating this project. From the expertly mixed “Hard Knock Life” sample on album highlight “Hussle & Motivate,” to him pushing for building black wealth in the community on “Young N****” Nipsey has really made even more of a name for himself. He has an “in-your-face” method of delivering bars that isn’t melodic, but instead you actually feel what he’s saying.
If you’re really listening, one of the craziest stories that he tells is how his brother buried a quarter of a million dollars that he found just on the street, and when he went to dig it up, over half of it had molded! This album felt like a wave of authenticity to west coast hip-hop that has been running rampant with the commercial, mainstream sound lately.
Aura’s Picks: “Blue Laces 2,” “Hussle & Motivate,” & “Keyz 2 The City 2” ft TeeFlii
“When I look at what this moment is, it’s confirmation again: We here. That was my goal, to put out a major album, on my label, and be respected as an authentic artist in hip-hop and have a great business setup. I always knew
that it would end up like this. I’ve been through a lot, and we’ve been through a lot of setbacks and loss and moments where I didn’t know if it was going to happen. And I dealt with all of the pressures and all of the expectations and letdowns and everything. And just to be where we at, it’s just a song reflecting on that. You gotta power through it mentally, and you gotta walk by faith.” — Nipsey speaking about “Real Big (feat. Marsha Ambrosius)” on NPR.
