L.L.N. - Long Live Nipsey Playlist Commentary
The Spotify playlist link is in the Navigation and you can click the Apple Music link to find it on that platform.
To me, Nipsey Hussle was/is one of the greatest figures in Hip Hop culture. I first started listening to his music eight or nine years ago. He was on the XXL magazine cover with Kendrick and J.Cole and I thought all of them were so cool. As I started getting older, I stopped listening to Nipsey as much but I still kept up with his business career. When he passed away, I revisited my favorite songs of his. I forgot how impactful he was when I was first getting into music. The music, and the lifestyle he built around his brand was one of the first that I saw, I loved Marathon Clothing, and I loved what he stood for. As he was on his marathon he encouraged me to do the same. So this playlist is that marathon continuing. The marathon I’m on and the marathon legacy that all of his fans are carrying out for him.
Here is the commentary on this playlist! I love these songs and I’m really excited for you to listen and remember Nipsey with me. I chose 3 Nipsey songs that are fairly popular and then I curated the rest of the playlist around them.
That’s How I Knew: “I seen it, I thought it, I dreamed it. I said it, I did it, I meant it.”
This song represents Nipsey’s confidence. False confidence is not foreign to rap. What makes Nipsey’s confidence different to me is he was not all talk. The way he knew exactly who he was and what his purpose was is so crazy looking back. He knew that he was different and because of that, he lived his life in a way that was different from most rappers. That’s why people are still talking about him months after his death and his life is still making ripples in not just hip hop culture but the world.
Wakanda DJ Dahi Remix
To me, Wakanda holds this truth that black people can trace back to a place where our skin tone and who we are is valued and celebrated. The first song is about Nipsey knowing who he is and this song backs him up. This song represents the brilliance Nipsey had, though some may not have acknowledged it, this is what was within him.
Blue Laces 2: “Never judge you, but the streets will never love you”
This song represents Nipsey’s lyricism. In this playlist, this song also represents his official arrival to the rap game, though he has been around for a while and made a bunch of mixtapes, this song is from his first and his last album. When he was riding around Los Angeles with Bobby Hundreds before the album dropped, he called this album his finest moment in music ever. Like that’s a strong statement but in the way the album was put together, you could tell. The production was incredible, the lyrics were of course incredible. Through his rap style on this album, I feel like we can tell he feels good about the music he made and he is proud of the way he got to that point in his career. There is a sort of quiet confidence that we can sense throughout the album. He was not just making songs to please a record label. All of this is reflected in this album and specifically this song. This is for sure my Nipsey favorite song on this playlist.
Chapter Ten: “In time you’ll know this is about you”
Chapter Ten is the turning point of the playlist. This song and the next two songs are more melodic and this grouping will take us from looking at Nipsey to reflecting on ourselves and a bigger picture. The song ends with the narrator saying “show you pain” which is a good segway to our next song.
Thugz Mansion: “Seen the politicians ban us they'd rather see us locked in chains, please explain why they can't stand us”
This song represents the struggles that are faced in neighborhoods like the one Nipsey grew up in. Nipsey was definitely trying to make the place he repped and called home a place full of life instead of death. Unfortunately, other people don’t share that view and he was murdered in the same neighborhood he was trying to help at the hand of another community member. I can go into a deep discussion about Heaven and whether or not there is a thugz mansion. I don’t think there is a thugz mansion per se but the Lord says that in His house there are many rooms (John 14:2) and His Kingdom is going to be filled with people who had different pasts, who look differently from me and have different life stories. The thing that unites us is the fact that we believe Jesus’ blood saved us from our sins; He lived the life we couldn’t. There is an escape from the nonsense of this life, and we find it in Christ.
Fun fact: All the other rappers on this playlist are from California just like Nipsey!
Love is in Need of Love: “What I'm about to say, could mean the world's disaster. Could change your joy and laughter to tears and pain”
This song represents that call to action I mentioned earlier. There is a lot of hate in this world. Hate is what killed Nipsey and now there is a family that has to live without their husband, father, brother, and son. All the songs lyrics we will never hear, clothing items we will never wear, and businesses and innovative ways to use technology that we will never see or experience. Will we continue to kill each other or will we actually unite and work out our differences? Honestly, our only hope in that is Jesus. I know this isn’t a christian song but Jesus can help us to love our neighbor as ourself and to live at peace with everyone. This is another part in the playlist where we’re given the opportunity to reflect, we may not be killing our enemies or people that intimidate us but how are we carrying out hate. Is it someone we haven’t forgiven, are we holding grudges, do we avoid certain people because they get on our nerves and take up our time? I’m speaking to myself right now, but for real. This song gives us room to see how we can give love some love. I truly believe we can only do that effectively through the power of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ.
Sound of My Ceremony: “If I died yesterday my life would be a victory”
I had to end a Nipsey tribute with a Nipsey song of course!! It is so incredible to me that Nipsey was so self aware. He was so prolific and it was truly from him being himself and not giving up. That is eye opening to me, like if I was truly myself how impactful could I be too? What’s preventing you from being you? I believe we were all created for a purpose and I think Nipsey accomplished his. I really do. This song is a reminder that the marathon continues. And it continues through us.
Throughout this post I mention Jesus. Jesus Christ is greater than Nipsey, I’m not trying to make a joke. I think Nipsey was and is one of the greatest figures in Hip Hop and one of the most impactful rappers in my life so i’m not just throwing that around. Jesus is worthy of al the supremacy people tie to His name. He does not just encourage, He also transforms the lives of people who put their hope and trust in him and He walks through life with us. I truly urge you to get to know Jesus. If you want to know more about him, send me a message!