Written by Bryan Staton
No longer can we use the excuse “nobody told me” or “I don’t know how” because 93 Days Ago LA rapper/entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle released his debut album “Victory Lap”. This should be all the motivation you need, this should be the audio adrenaline shot to get up get out and get something. Hussle’s music has always been rich in elegance, exclusivity, and even some hints of his Eritrean roots. While I slept on the “Bullets” trilogy, I was first On line for the Marathon. I couldn’t wait for Crenshaw, and I rang in my New Years 2015 with Mailbox Money. So by the time Slauson Boy 2 drooped I was eager for what would soon be......... Victory Lap. If this album was a pot of Gumbo the ingredients would be success, knowing your worth, sticking with your day 1s, PTSD from gang life, having the streets for a learning curve, and celebrating finally getting your vision across while maintaining creative control. Victory. This album is a 15 song (sans “Right Hand 2 God”) declaration to where you can ultimately take your brand despite your humble beginning. This is the same Neighborhood Nip with a 6X white tee, extra baggy jeans, and the nappy braids, who knew he was capable of really “giving game like a big brother”. When Mark Zuckerberg was attending Harvard, Nip was engulfed in a gang war. Somehow they both ended up changing the game, Nipsey speaks to his demographic the same as the Facebook ceo and somehow they both ended up in the race to a trillion. Early comparisons marked Nipsey as the next Snoop, but I think we may be seeing the resurrection of the God MC