Interview: Nipsey Hussle Explains His Dispute with Complex, Going Indie, and "Crenshaw"

This interview did not cost 10K.

nipsey hussle
Getty

Image via Getty/Prince Williams/Contributor

nipsey hussle

Nipsey Hussle rightfully made a name for himself in 2008 with his powerfulĀ Bullets Ainā€™t Got No Name trilogy, which many expected to propel him to the forefront of West Coast rap. But in the five years since, other L.A. artists emerged to assume the mantle. This past Augustā€”out of our disappointment, not ill willā€”we put Nipsey on ourĀ 10 Underachieving RappersĀ list, and he wasnā€™t too happy about it. Not knowing his displeasure, I reached out for an interview so we could talk about the hype surrounding the recent release of hisĀ CrenshawĀ mixtape and its $100 price tag.

After some back and forth, and getting calledout on Twitter by Nipsey himself (who alsoĀ demanded $10,000 for a Complex interview),Ā he finally agreed to get on the phone to talk to us (with a special $10,000 discount). And we're glad he did. In our conversation, he gave a scathing critique of our rap coverage, discussed why his music resonates with people, and explained why he refuses to budge from his anti-industry stance.

Interview by Angel Diaz (@ADiaz456)

So, I reached out to you for an interview once Crenshaw dropped and you denied us. Then you went on a Twitter rant about Complex and said we had to put up $10,000 for an interview. What was the source of your frustration?

First off, I never took anything personal. I never really took a personal offense to 25ā€¦I forgot the title you used. It was kind of a degrading article.

Complex was a big supporter from day one of my sh*t. But I started to see a change in the stance it was taking. It was almost like sarcasticā€¦it made me think, Do you guys even like hip-hop?

The 10 Underachieving Rappers?

Exactly. I didnā€™t take personal offense to that. As a hip-hop artist in 2013, with the technology, the landscape of the industry and the culture, things are changing. Weā€™re in a transitional period. We assume that editors of a credible magazine are intelligent people. We assume that these are people up on the state of things in the world, outside of just hip-hop.Ā Leading up to that article, I went to Complex, I played my albums for Complex. Complex was a big supporter from day one of my shit. But I started to see a change in the stance it was taking. It was almost like sarcasticā€¦it made me think, Do you guys even like hip-hop? Is Complex a magazine that has love for the culture? I started to see real sarcastic and degrading articles.

I understand being critical, thatā€™s what keeps artists on top of their game. If they do some wack shit, thereā€™s gonna be an honest write-up about their shit. What I got was that somebody in that building had a disgust for hip-hop. It was like a bougie stance from where theyā€™re writing from. Thatā€™s what I took offense to. I see a lot of that in our culture right now. This shit came from the streets. This shit came from the people. This shit came from the struggle.

I took offense to, not only Complexā€™s stance, but the major labelsā€™ stance on how they treat artists, how they treat the culture. And I felt like weā€™re at a point where our cultureā€™s getting exploited and itā€™s looking like theyā€™re trying to do us like they did rock 'n' roll. Theyā€™re trying to do us like they did Africa, and theyā€™re trying to extract all of our natural resources for their own exploited reasons. If Complex is going to take the stance to degrade the culture and point out every flaw that hip-hop artists have and every mistake they make, then Iā€™ma take the stance to say: As hip-hop, weā€™re gonna boycott Complex. We donā€™t need that. We can write about ourselves. We could develop our own outlet and we can cover our own stories. Itā€™s like ā€œNo thank you. We donā€™t need yā€™all opinion no more.ā€ And thatā€™s why I said what I said.

To clarify, that list was based on artists we really fuck with who may not have had the output we wished they had. It was a critical opinion. We werenā€™t trying to bring anybody down.

Number one, who is an editor to have an opinion on a street nigga? Bottom line. Those editors donā€™t live this life. They donā€™t go through the struggle. Iā€™m from the Rolling 60's my nigga. They donā€™t understand what putting an album out is to me. It ainā€™t the same as one of them backpack niggas, or one of them college-rapping types. That ainā€™t the shit I do.Ā I got enemies. I went to war for real in between albums. My life is real. So when I hear about an editor asking: Whatā€™s up with my output? Iā€™m like: Whatā€™s up with you even commenting on my life? Niggas donā€™t know my life. Thatā€™s the bourgeoisie approach that I get offended by because this ainā€™t no bubble. This ainā€™t no vacuum we doing this music out of. Thatā€™s why people connect to the pain in it. Because itā€™s real. Thatā€™s the part they should respect. These radio hits, these charts, they donā€™t validate the truth and the message. Thatā€™s when I start to be like, ā€œOkay, you ainā€™t got a record on radio. You ainā€™t put an album out officially, so youā€™re an underachiever.ā€

Thatā€™s where I get offended because letā€™s restart this whole situation. The metrics and the gauge of success, and of impact on the culture. It donā€™t got shit to do with Billboard, it donā€™t got shit to do with SoundScan. It donā€™t got shit to do with any of these platforms that the business created. This shit is a culture. This shit is our life. You understand? So in between my projects does it take a year or two, or another artist that live a real life? Does it take them a year to put a project out? Because he wants to retain ownership. He wants to do what they refuse to let you do and thatā€™s control his own destiny. He donā€™t wanna be exploited by the music industry that been traditionally exploitive to our creators. Then he end up on lists like the Top 25 Underachievers.

A lot of these artists that you got on these lists, theyā€™re living real life and come from real places. The fact that theyā€™re not doing 25-to-life in jail, yā€™all niggas better salute that. The fact that niggas ainā€™t running up on shit, robbing shit, stealing shitā€”niggas are being creative, having a positive output.Ā Complex better respect that, period.

It sounds like you actually did take it a little personally.

Yeah. But then I realize I canā€™t and I step back. Thatā€™s why I didnā€™t speak on yā€™all when the list first popped up. I just stepped back and said, ā€œThatā€™s yā€™all right to do that.ā€ But Iā€™m starting to see Complex. Yā€™all cover all the shit you donā€™t like about hip-hop. I stepped back and watched for months. Iā€™ve come to a conclusion: ComplexĀ donā€™t love this shit. Theyā€™re not in it. They cover it from a bourgeoisie perspective. Weā€™re judged by our peers. Weā€™re not judged by somebody putting stories up writing an article. We donā€™t even know your background. You gotta validate your opinion in the real world. You canā€™t just walk on Crenshaw and Slauson and say, ā€œI donā€™t like Nipseyā€™s project,ā€ ā€™cause niggas gonna beat you up. Who are you to say that? Iā€™m offended by the throw-a-stone-and-hide-your-hand operation of this industry. Diss a nigga one month because you think his career is over. And the nigga turn around and shift culture and you ask for an interview. Fuck your interview, nigga. Quote me on that.

Iā€™m an unsigned artist getting $25,000 a show. Iā€™m touring the world, not doing nothing against the law, getting money to feed my family. I got employees that have felonies and they canā€™t get jobs. They work for me.

To be fair, as your fanā€”and I told you my backgroundā€”I can tell that youā€™re really from the streets. And I really fuck with your sound, but I wasnā€™t really feeling The Marathon Continues. We put you on the ā€œUnderachieversā€ list because you dropped that in 2011 and disappeared. We didnā€™t really hear from you until you started dropping the Victory Lap shit, which has been fire by the way.

Whoā€™s making these rules up that you got to drop a project every six months? Who made these rules up? I donā€™t know where that came from. Thatā€™s not indigenous to rap. Thatā€™s what niggas start doing, but Iā€™m not a follower. And Iā€™m not in it for these same reasons. Niggas hold fame against you like thatā€™s what youā€™re in it for. Iā€™m not in it for fame. Iā€™ve been famous in the streets already. My goal in this shit is different, bro. What Iā€™m trying to do in this rap shit is different. Thatā€™s the reason that I priced my project for the price I priced it at. Obviously, itā€™s a business and weā€™re all trying to get the bread. But I really love hip-hop. I really love the culture of hip-hop. And if a nigga understands and listens to my catalog, they can tell that. If they canā€™t tell nothing else they can tell that.

I mean, it gave me a legitimate outlet. It gave me a freedom to be able to do what I love to do and get paid for it. But even before that, Iā€™m a student, Iā€™m a child of hip-hop first. Iā€™m an unsigned artist getting $25,000 a show. Iā€™m touring the world, not doing nothing against the law, getting money to feed my family. I got employees that have felonies and they canā€™t get jobs. They work for me.

Who are yā€™all talking to? Whoā€™s the audience youā€™re speaking to? Because you canā€™t be speaking to the streets. The streets donā€™t think like that. They donā€™t, bro. They donā€™t think, like, he ainā€™t have a project for a couple months. Nah, thatā€™s not how the streets think. Theyā€™re like, ā€œMy nigga, keep going. Keep going because youā€™re supposed to be dead. Youā€™re supposed to be in jail. Youā€™re supposed to be doing 25 with the rest of the niggas you grew up with.ā€ My presence is positive. My presence is law of attraction. Mind over matter. Thatā€™s really the fabric of my creativity.

Ā 

Ā 

Do you really think we wait until artists are hyped to cover them and over-criticize them at times?

Fact. I mean I didnā€™t know yā€™all covered me. When I came into the game Complex jumped on my dick. I didnā€™t ask Complex to cover me. I was selling my music out my trunk on Crenshaw and Slauson, and Complex asked me can they get an interview. I didnā€™t ask them to write about me. I didnā€™t invite them into my world. I ainā€™t never need ā€™em. But I granted them access. So I let them have some cachet value. 'Cause the streets was fucking with me.

Like I said, we reached out to you earlier in your career. We gave A$AP Rocky his first cover. We gave Chance the Rapper his first cover.

Itā€™s different, bro. Iā€™m not them niggas at all. And itā€™s no disrespect to Chance or A$AP, but Iā€™m different. You canā€™t compare me to A$AP Rocky or Chance the Rapper. No disrespect, Iā€™m different. Go ahead though.

Letā€™s get into the Crenshaw tape. You have a lot of dope beats on there. Tell us the process you went through in putting that together.

Iā€™m not really into talking about it. Itā€™s on www.iamproud2pay.com. Itā€™s $100. Whatever you need to know is out there already. If niggas ainā€™t aware of it, itā€™s not for them. If the magazine ainā€™t up on it, it ainā€™t for them. They could put their ear to the street and they can get it from the people. Itā€™s the first hundred-dollar album in the history of recorded music. Thatā€™s it. I ainā€™t really tripping off Complexā€™s opinion.

My truth is gonna be what they connect to. I touch people when I go to my shows. I see my lyrics tattooed on them. But Iā€™m not a fame junkie. Iā€™m not into trading ownership of the only asset I have, which is my intellectual property.

Well, I listened to the tape a couple times. I just want to talk about it a little bit. You donā€™t want to talk about the tape?

Go through every album, every song and then point out one lie. And then go through these other artists, whether you like them or notā€”who you consider my competition and whatnotā€”and go through their albums and compare record to record, line for line, from what the culture is, what hip-hop is, and my shit better than these niggasā€™ shit. You can quote me on that. Period. My shit realer. My shit ainā€™t got no lies in it. My storyā€™s real. I ainā€™t supposed to be here. You can quote that. Iā€™m supposed to be on the level with my homeboy Little Shady Blue. Thatā€™s where Iā€™m supposed to be. By me standing here, and having an international audience for what I got to sayā€”salute that. And you can quote me on that. Again, that ainā€™t no disrespect to you. I understand through your emails youā€™re probably a nigga like me so you probably understand where Iā€™m coming from.

Thatā€™s why I wanna talk, just getting into the tape a little bit. Where did you come up with that idea? Were you worried that it wasnā€™t going to work?

No, I knew it was gonna work because I saw the stats on my website. I know that people in New Zealand spend $600 with me a month. I see that Iā€™m shipping out a package that costs $400: a hat and T-shirt, mixtapes, a beanie, I see that. I got people in Toronto that spend $500. I see that. My fans are engaged to that level.

Iā€™ve been fucking with you for a while and I realized early on that you resonated with people. You kind of have a cult following. Why do you think you resonate with people so much?

Because Iā€™m real my nigga. My story is real. There ainā€™t no rap niggas in the game like me at all. Especially from my generation. There ainā€™t no nigga that stood up to what I stood up to. Went through what I went through. Thought how I thought. Didnā€™t give up. Stayed down, stayed in the shit. Built for his community. Stayed local and inspired his area. Came from a treacherous area like the Rolling 60's. Went toe to toe and head up with killers. There ainā€™t no nigga in the game like me. So thatā€™s what theyā€™re connecting to and the fact that I express my truth via my music. I donā€™t need a Dr. Dre beat. My truth is gonna be what they connect to. I touch people when I go to my shows. I see my lyrics tattooed on them. But Iā€™m not a fame junkie. Iā€™m not into trading ownership of the only asset I have, which is my intellectual property. Iā€™m not into trading that so people will understand why Iā€™m the realest thing in this shit.

You do a lot of records with Dom Kennedy. Did he have any influence on you in terms of how to make moves in this business?

You could say that.

Curren$y too. Those are guys that stayed independent and are making money and being successful.

I got respect for Curren$y, thatā€™s my nigga. I got love and respect for Dom. Iā€™m influenced by real niggas thatā€™s doing real things. My strategy and my campaign is understood by the generation and the era we live in. Why would a nigga sign to a major label and give up the only thing you have? They be famous, but they donā€™t own shit. Once the marketing money wears off and you ainā€™t getting no check, and your single ainā€™t being marketed to radio no more? You donā€™t got nobody who really cares for you, or really loves you, or really connects to what youā€™re saying. So itā€™s over. I was on a major label with a lot of these niggas. Iā€™ve seen niggas with No. 1 hits come and go. You feel what Iā€™m saying? Iā€™m still here my nigga.

It was a big co-sign when Jay Z bought a bunch of your CDs. How did that make you feel?

I respect a real nigga making a real nigga move. I wasnā€™t even gonna say nothing about it. The stories started getting out and people started acting like niggas was lying about it; so I confirmed it. Iā€™m in it for doing what God put me here to do. Thatā€™s my job. I ainā€™t tripping on no co-sign. I respect Jay to the utmost, heā€™s a real nigga. I respect all real niggas. Fuck rappers. Fuck magazines. I respect the move. That ainā€™t why I did it and I donā€™t think it was successful because an artist of that caliber bought into it. I think that Jay understands the truth and he understands life like I probably understand life. In 2013, niggas is fools for signing with other rappers. Niggas is fucking clowns for signing these 360 deals. You can quote me on that. As a fan of hip-hop I want you to point to an artist that represents what I represent in the game right now. It ainā€™t got nothing to do with the move that just happened. Iā€™m saying in general. I represent a real nigga that came from a real place that runs his own situation.

Have any other rappers hit you up saying, ā€œDamn, I wish I thought about this?ā€

Yeah, a couple of my niggas that I fuck with and respect are like, ā€œIā€™m with you. I wanna sit down with you and I wanna campaign how you campaign. I wanna get in on this 'Fuck the Middleman,' 'I Am Proud to Pay Shit' too.ā€ And Iā€™m like, ā€œLetā€™s do it my nigga.ā€ I salute it because this industry ainā€™t built for us to win. This industry built for niggas to be broke at the end of their careers. The Internet changed it. Before they put a nigga on an ā€œUnderachievingā€ list, letā€™s look at the metrics. Letā€™s look at the real mechanisms of gauging an artistā€™s impact on culture. Because if youā€™re telling me that all yā€™all gauging is Soundscan and Billboard, we donā€™t need yā€™all. Yā€™all getting an eviction notice. Complex outta here. We cooled on yā€™all because everythingā€™s gotta go. Yā€™all the middleman, fuck yā€™all. What Iā€™m really offended about is that Complex acted like I donā€™t remember. They emailed me like, ā€œIā€™m a big fan, I fuck with yā€™all, letā€™s get an interview.ā€

But that was me though.

It was on behalf of Complex. Theyā€™re using you like these labels use these rappers. Listen to me real quick. Labels put rappers in front of their company to attract other rappers. Look at every label my nigga. Warner Bros. got their artists that they signed urban shit through. Atlantic got their artists they sign urban shit through. Def Jam got their artists they sign urban shit through. And one artist that say, ā€œThis is my nigga. Iā€™m gonna let my nigga eat.ā€ Then all the other niggas gotta sign through him. Thatā€™s the business model of these major labels. Niggas too stupid. Niggas is too reliant, getting caught up in the ambition of the artist to understand that this shit is disrespectful. If youā€™re a black man, if youā€™re a nigga from the struggle, you should be offended by that.

I know Kendrick deserves everything heā€™s got because he works for it. And thatā€™s how I feel about it. I know that he raps what I rap. And the bigger he gets, the bigger this category that Iā€™m in gets.

Niggas should ride with me. Niggas should have no other opinion about it. And itā€™s offensive. Or theyā€™re not paying attention. If theyā€™re not paying attention Iā€™m here to wake them up. Iā€™m here to tell them. Iā€™ve been to every major label my nigga. Who does Interscope have? Dr. Dre. You wanna come to Interscope? Sign with Dre. What you think Warner Bros. and Atlantic got? They got niggas that they like and say to them, ā€œWeā€™ll let you get your money but every dealā€™s gotta come through you.ā€ What you think Def Jamā€™s doing? Look at every artist they got on the platform recently. The labels are upset about it like, ā€œDamn, we gotta deal with another nigga with some power now. Damn, another one slipped through.ā€

People were saying, ā€œWhy am I gonna pay $100 when I could just download it for free? Yā€™all stupid for paying $100 for it.ā€ How do you feel about that?

We can criticize a street nigga, but we canā€™t be aware of the mindfuck thatā€™s going on with these corporations and these motherfuckinā€™ giants. Itā€™s a problem that Nip still values his product at $100ā€”I get backlash from our culture. From the niggas that look like me. Most of these niggas rap for their damn selves. But when niggas go into the mall and buy $600 iPhonesā€”and everybodyā€™s got an iPhoneā€”and stand in line for $1,000 shoes, and pay $5 a gallon for gas. Thatā€™s why Iā€™m mad. Thatā€™s my objective and niggas gotta wake up. Itā€™s a misinformed critique.

You were planning to drop Victory Lap first, right? So now thatā€™s gonna be an album instead?

Yeah. Iā€™ma tell you about that. I was in negotiations with a few major labels and we were almost close to a deal. So I started promoting Victory Lap as a mixtape before my album, because I was gonna drop Victory Lap, announce my deal, and go into the album; but I realized that the structure of these companies arenā€™t built to give me any type of ownership. They wanna give you a check. I told them keep the check, give me an asset and just market and distribute my shit. I donā€™t need a check. They wanted to give me all this money up front but Iā€™m like, keep the money. Let me be involved as a partner. And niggas couldnā€™t do that. And itā€™s not because the people at the label didnā€™t want to help me. Itā€™s because the corporate structure of their companies would not allow ownership. And Iā€™m offended by that. I called an audible and I withstood social pressure. I believed in my heart that I would be less of a man to not stand up for what I believed in. I felt like it was racist. Like, I donā€™t deserve some shit I just built by myself? You want to give me some money? Oh, because you donā€™t think I know what the asset is? You think I donā€™t understand where the real value is? Well Iā€™m offended by that and my goal changed. I didnā€™t do a press release or tell nobody about it. I just let my demonstration speak. And now theyā€™ve seen the first part of it with the Crenshaw shit. Thatā€™s just a small piece of what my plan is.

When can we expect Victory Lap?

Itā€™ll be the next project I release. The first single is ready, itā€™s called ā€œRap Niggas.ā€ Thatā€™s coming soon. Thatā€™s really the most concrete information I have right now. I donā€™t wanna give out information that the fans hold onto, and get let down. So Iā€™ma leave it at that. Completely independent and itā€™ll be under the Fuck the Middleman pay model.

I just want to get your opinion. Kendrickā€™s at the forefront right now, repping the West. What were your thoughts when you first heard the ā€œControlā€ verse?

Iā€™m a fan of Kendrick as a person and as an artist, and I respect the Top Dawg movement. I know them niggas, I know they come from the projects. I know we were on tour together and we were beating shit up in the club together. I know that they are genuine niggas. I know Kendrick deserves everything heā€™s got because he works for it. And thatā€™s how I feel about it. I know that he raps what I rap. And the bigger he gets, the bigger this category that Iā€™m in gets. And I salute and I respect it as a real nigga.

Ā 

Ā 

When the Crenshaw tape was coming out and people were criticizing the model, Dom went on Twitter to publicly back you. How does that feel to have a peer fuck with you unconditionally?

Itā€™s like in the streets. If I fight you fight. I ainā€™t gonna watch you fight and not jump in it. What type of nigga does that make me? And I call myself ā€œyour nigga?ā€ If you fighting, Iā€™m fighting. Thatā€™s how weĀ were raised. Ainā€™t nothing special. Thatā€™s how we was brought up.

I needed a marketing machine and I needed international distribution for my product. [Rick] Ross fought tooth and nail to make that happen for me. I respect him and salute him for that; but then we ran into the corporate structure of these companies.

This is sort of old news, but were you really close to joining Maybach Music?

Me and Rick Ross sat down and talked and he made it clear that he can make the deal that I need. And I told him that I donā€™t need money, I need a partnership. I needed a marketing machine and I needed international distribution for my product. Ross fought tooth and nail to make that happen for me. I respect him and salute him for that; but then we ran into the corporate structure of these companies. And again, it offended me, because here you have one of the most powerful, respected niggas in the game about to make a power move thatā€™s going to incite the culture and they want us to be the ones that compromise. They should be the ones to compromise for the culture so this thing can happen. Weā€™re not supposed to compromise and thatā€™s what they said. They said, ā€œJust be happy with the hood and happy with the fame of it and how itā€™s gonna make it look. Itā€™s gonna be big. Youā€™re gonna be the biggest nigga out of the West,ā€ and all this other shit. Sell that to a ho, my nigga. Iā€™m a man.

Thatā€™s why youā€™re doing it like guys like Dom, Curren$y, and Action Bronson and taking the indie route?

Now let me ask you this. Since the game has changed, when are the magazines gonna change? And stop rating niggas as ā€œunderachievers?ā€ When they gonna react to whatā€™s going on? Because theyā€™re late. You look at major labels, even physical publications, theyā€™re on their way out my nigga. Niggas ainā€™t buying magazines in the next 10 years. Theyā€™re gonna be on the iPad downloading magazines.

But we were one of the first print magazines to embrace digital.

Yeah, but my thing is, yā€™all still misrepresenting the culture. I know itā€™s not Marc Ecko, because I understand heā€™s the owner, his involvement is probably not all the way down to the core of the daily operation. But somewhere in between thereā€™s a disconnect and I know Marc Ecko stand for ownership. I bought his book before he told me he was gonna send me one. I bought it because I respect dude. I bought his clothes when they was out. I understand his impact on culture. I know he did 50 Centā€™s clothing line. I respect it.

So this is your new model? Youā€™re staying independent?

You listen to my first shitā€”I said, ā€œFuck the middleman.ā€ 2003. Iā€™ve been campaigning this but the game wasnā€™t ready, and it wasnā€™t time. Niggas convinced me to take a major deal. I feel like now, since this new thing dropped, and real niggas like Jay Z stood up with the power of his influence, he influenced other businessmen to say, ā€œYou know what Nip? Iā€™ma support you. Give me 200. Iā€™m buying 200.ā€ We gonna pay the IRS and we gonna power what we believe in. And niggas gonna be able to gauge my sincerity over the next year or two. Youā€™ll have other artists popping up doing the same thing. And then what these labels gonna do? They gonna have to give niggas their fair share. I stood up to shit way tougher than the labels before. Iā€™m not scared. I ainā€™t got no fear in my heart, trust me. I stood up to way more shit than a major label, than some pencil-pushing white boy, no disrespect. Iā€™ma keep it 100. And thatā€™s it, thatā€™s how I feel.

RELATED: Our 2010 interview with Nipsey

Latest in Music