Rick Ross' Cardiak-produced Port of Miami 2 cut "Rich N**** Lifestyle" sees guest appearances by Teyana Taylor and the late Nipsey Hussle, who was fatally shot outside his Marathon Clothing store in Los Angeles in March.
While Taylor takes the chorus, Hussle contributed to the song with a second verse that notably includes lyrical references to a 2018 Lakers/Rockets scuffle he witnessed courtside and the currently incarcerated Dummy Boy artist 6ix9ine.
With the 6ix9ine mention, Hussle wondered why anyone was surprised about the outcome of his legal situation:
How many n****s on your payroll?
Rich gangbangers, y'all ain't even know they make those
Double caseloads, push buttons, I got say-so
When it's war time, never lay low, y'all play roles
I can't name a fake n**** that was not exposed
How y'all n****s so surprised that Tekashi told?
Ain't a real street n**** 'less you got a code
Mines one comma, n****, followed by a lot of Os
The posthumously released verse doesn't mark the first time Hussle shared his thoughts on 6ix9ine. In a Big Boy interview, he advised the public to "not even react to clown shit" and instead just let it expire.
"Put the dude on goofy time and just let him sit over here doing what he doing till that shit expire, 'cause it's always gonna self-destruct, clearly," he said at the time.
In an interview released Friday for Amazon Music's Rap Rotation playlist, Ross looked back on the first time he met Hussle and detailed the themes the two aimed to explore on their Port of Miami 2 collab.
"Me, first meeting Nipsey many, many moons ago, I knew just looking in his eyes he understood his direction," Ross said. "He was one of the first artists that I stood next to and had a conversation and he didn’t look down on his situation of being independent. He already had a plan, an idea."
"Rich N**** Lifestyle," Ross added, marked put "true wealth" in focus.
"Basically what we talking about is true wealth, longevity, putting yourself in a position where you're not just carrying yourself, not just your household, but your entire team—everybody who' a part of your dream," he said.
