Remembering Nipsey Hussle Through His Biggest Musical Achievements

We're remembering Nipsey Hussle through his music. From his early mixtapes to his final single, here's a timeline of his career.

ByShawn Setaro

Apr 04, 2019

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Image via Getty/Thaddaeus McAdams

In the aftermath of Nipsey Hussle’s tragic murder, much of the music world’s attention has been focused on the hunt for—and subsequent capture of—the person who allegedly pulled the trigger. But it’s worth remembering why so many people care so deeply about Nipsey’s life and death, and what first drew many of us to him: his music. Nipsey Hussle progressed from an important local voice to a Grammy-nominated international star in a little over a decade. Below is a timeline of his music career’s biggest and most important moments.

Nipsey’s very first release was Slauson Boy Vol. 1, which came out near the end of 2005. You can listen to the project’s titular track “Slauson Boy” above. Slauson Boy also served as the initial name of his label. Fans would have to wait until 2016 to hear Slauson Boy 2, which would arrive as a compilation of records from his “Marathon Mondays” series. — youtu.be

Nipsey’s very first release was *Slauson Boy Vol. 1*, which came out near the end of 2005. You can listen to the project’s titular track “Slauson Boy” above. Slauson Boy also served as the initial name of his label. Fans would have to wait until 2016 to hear *Slauson Boy 2*, which would arrive as a compilation of records from his “Marathon Mondays” series.

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Nipsey’s very first release was *Slauson Boy Vol. 1*, which came out near the end of 2005. You can listen to the project’s titular track “Slauson Boy” above. Slauson Boy also served as the initial name of his label. Fans would have to wait until 2016 to hear *Slauson Boy 2*, which would arrive as a compilation of records from his “Marathon Mondays” series.

One of Nipsey’s first true brushes with greatness came via his Bullets Ain’t Got No Name mixtape series, the initial two volumes of which were released within a few months of each other in late 2008—the first projects on his All Money In No Money Out label. The rapper’s growing buzz led to a deal with Epic Records that same year. The second volume of Bullets came with a co-sign (“I swear before God this cat is crazy”) and two features from the Game. — youtu.be

One of Nipsey’s first true brushes with greatness came via his *Bullets Ain’t Got No Name* mixtape series, the initial two volumes of which were released within a few months of each other in late 2008—the first projects on his All Money In No Money Out label. The rapper’s growing buzz led to a deal with Epic Records that same year. The second volume of *Bullets* came with a co-sign (“I swear before God this cat is crazy”) and two features from the Game.

youtu.be

One of Nipsey’s first true brushes with greatness came via his *Bullets Ain’t Got No Name* mixtape series, the initial two volumes of which were released within a few months of each other in late 2008—the first projects on his All Money In No Money Out label. The rapper’s growing buzz led to a deal with Epic Records that same year. The second volume of *Bullets* came with a co-sign (“I swear before God this cat is crazy”) and two features from the Game.

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Nipsey’s first single with Epic (in collaboration with Koch) was “Hussle in the House,” though the label also put out “Bullets Ain’t Got No Names” on the exact same day.

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Nipsey’s first single with Epic (in collaboration with Koch) was “Hussle in the House,” though the label also put out “Bullets Ain’t Got No Names” on the exact same day.

Nip teamed up with Canada’s finest on “Killer,” a cut from Hussle’s Bullets Ain’t Got No Names Vol. 3.1. Drizzy would not soon forget the collaboration, later paying Hussle a moving tribute in the aftermath of his murder. — youtu.be

Nip teamed up with Canada’s finest on “Killer,” a cut from Hussle’s *Bullets Ain’t Got No Names Vol. 3.1*. Drizzy would not soon forget the collaboration, later paying Hussle a moving tribute in the aftermath of his murder.

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Nip teamed up with Canada’s finest on “Killer,” a cut from Hussle’s *Bullets Ain’t Got No Names Vol. 3.1*. Drizzy would not soon forget the collaboration, later paying Hussle a moving tribute in the aftermath of his murder.

XXL’s 2010 Freshman Class was stacked with elite talent, including J. Cole, Jay Rock, Freddie Gibbs, Wiz Khalifa, and Big Sean. So for Nipsey to be included in that cohort was quite an accomplishment. You can see the freestyle he spit to celebrate the occasion above. — youtu.be

*XXL*’s 2010 Freshman Class was stacked with elite talent, including J. Cole, Jay Rock, Freddie Gibbs, Wiz Khalifa, and Big Sean. So for Nipsey to be included in that cohort was quite an accomplishment. You can see the freestyle he spit to celebrate the occasion above.

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*XXL*’s 2010 Freshman Class was stacked with elite talent, including J. Cole, Jay Rock, Freddie Gibbs, Wiz Khalifa, and Big Sean. So for Nipsey to be included in that cohort was quite an accomplishment. You can see the freestyle he spit to celebrate the occasion above.

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Nipsey’s collaboration with Lloyd, “Feelin’ Myself,” would break into the lower ranks of the Billboard Hot R&B/Rap Songs chart in the fall of 2010, peaking at number 93 on the week of October 23.

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Nipsey’s collaboration with Lloyd, “Feelin’ Myself,” would break into the lower ranks of the Billboard Hot R&B/Rap Songs chart in the fall of 2010, peaking at number 93 on the week of October 23.

The Marathon was not only the first in Nipsey’s string of race-themed titles, it was also a significant artistic leap forward (one that was recognized by critics). The Marathon Continues would arrive the following year. — youtu.be

*The Marathon* was not only the first in Nipsey’s string of race-themed titles, it was also a significant artistic leap forward (one that was recognized by critics). *The Marathon Continues* would arrive the following year.

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*The Marathon* was not only the first in Nipsey’s string of race-themed titles, it was also a significant artistic leap forward (one that was recognized by critics). *The Marathon Continues* would arrive the following year.

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Nipsey’s first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart came in the week of February 25, 2012, when YG’s “Snitches Ain’t…,” which featured Nipsey, Tyga, and Snoop, cracked the chart at number 100.

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Nipsey’s first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart came in the week of February 25, 2012, when YG’s “Snitches Ain’t…,” which featured Nipsey, Tyga, and Snoop, cracked the chart at number 100.

Nipsey was featured on Stalley’s track “Fountain of Youth” alongside Rick Ross. The song’s appearance on Maybach Music Group’s Self Made Volume 2 compilation, alongside another Nipsey/Rick collab at around the same time, sparked rumors that Nipsey was about to sign to Rick Ross’ label. “[T]he MMG/WB team is Mos definitely a great look,” he told XXL at the time. However, no deal ever came to pass. — youtu.be

Nipsey was featured on Stalley’s track “Fountain of Youth” alongside Rick Ross. The song’s appearance on Maybach Music Group’s *Self Made Volume 2* compilation, alongside another Nipsey/Rick collab at around the same time, sparked rumors that Nipsey was about to sign to Rick Ross’ label. “[T]he MMG/WB team is Mos definitely a great look,” he told XXL at the time. However, no deal ever came to pass.

youtu.be

Nipsey was featured on Stalley’s track “Fountain of Youth” alongside Rick Ross. The song’s appearance on Maybach Music Group’s *Self Made Volume 2* compilation, alongside another Nipsey/Rick collab at around the same time, sparked rumors that Nipsey was about to sign to Rick Ross’ label. “[T]he MMG/WB team is Mos definitely a great look,” he told XXL at the time. However, no deal ever came to pass.

Nipsey came up with a unique plan to release his Crenshaw project. He put out a limited edition run of 1,000 CD copies (they came numbered, autographed, and with a free ticket to an upcoming concert) and sold them for the then-unthinkable price of $100 each. All of this happened just half a day before the music would be released officially, digitally, for free. Sounds insane, right? Well, Nipsey proved to be crazy like a fox, because the thousand CDs sold out in 12 hours. "By marking the price up, we're expecting to sell a lot fewer units, but we know we're selling to people who are already super-engaged,” he told Billboard at the time. One hundred of the copies were reportedly purchased by JAY-Z. In 2014, Nipsey would try a similar approach with Mailbox Money. This time, he put 100 copies on sale for $1,000 each. That worked, too: He sold 60 of them. — youtu.be

Nipsey came up with a unique plan to release his *Crenshaw* project. He put out a limited edition run of 1,000 CD copies (they came numbered, autographed, and with a free ticket to an upcoming concert) and sold them for the then-unthinkable price of $100 each. All of this happened just half a day before the music would be released officially, digitally, for free. Sounds insane, right? Well, Nipsey proved to be crazy like a fox, because the thousand CDs sold out in 12 hours. "By marking the price up, we're expecting to sell a lot fewer units, but we know we're selling to people who are already super-engaged,” he told *Billboard* at the time. One hundred of the copies were reportedly purchased by JAY-Z. In 2014, Nipsey would try a similar approach with *Mailbox Money*. This time, he put 100 copies on sale for $1,000 each. That worked, too: He sold 60 of them.

youtu.be

Nipsey came up with a unique plan to release his *Crenshaw* project. He put out a limited edition run of 1,000 CD copies (they came numbered, autographed, and with a free ticket to an upcoming concert) and sold them for the then-unthinkable price of $100 each. All of this happened just half a day before the music would be released officially, digitally, for free. Sounds insane, right? Well, Nipsey proved to be crazy like a fox, because the thousand CDs sold out in 12 hours. "By marking the price up, we're expecting to sell a lot fewer units, but we know we're selling to people who are already super-engaged,” he told *Billboard* at the time. One hundred of the copies were reportedly purchased by JAY-Z. In 2014, Nipsey would try a similar approach with *Mailbox Money*. This time, he put 100 copies on sale for $1,000 each. That worked, too: He sold 60 of them.

Two of the West Coast’s most powerful voices got together to share their feelings about a certain presidential candidate. Nipsey’s hatred of Trump was brought on by the soon-to-be-President’s statements about Mexican immigrants. “Number one, I’m from L.A. so I grew up with Mexican people and number two, I see Mexican people at all my concerts that really support,” Nipsey told Billboard. “I felt like they needed somebody to ride for ‘em.” — youtu.be

Two of the West Coast’s most powerful voices got together to share their feelings about a certain presidential candidate. Nipsey’s hatred of Trump was brought on by the soon-to-be-President’s statements about Mexican immigrants. “Number one, I’m from L.A. so I grew up with Mexican people and number two, I see Mexican people at all my concerts that really support,” Nipsey told *Billboard*. “I felt like they needed somebody to ride for ‘em.”

youtu.be

Two of the West Coast’s most powerful voices got together to share their feelings about a certain presidential candidate. Nipsey’s hatred of Trump was brought on by the soon-to-be-President’s statements about Mexican immigrants. “Number one, I’m from L.A. so I grew up with Mexican people and number two, I see Mexican people at all my concerts that really support,” Nipsey told *Billboard*. “I felt like they needed somebody to ride for ‘em.”

For the first time since leaving Epic seven years prior, Nipsey aligned himself with a major record company at the end of 2017. He announced a partnership with Atlantic Records that would, just a few months later, lead to the release of his first studio album, Victory Lap. “It’s not a traditional artist to a label signing,” he told me in 2017. “It’s more of us partnering with Atlantic and utilizing their specialties and their strengths to move what we’ve been doing to the next platform in terms of recognition, fan base, access to radio, access to retail, and utilize their staff, and tapping into a specialist.” — youtu.be

For the first time since leaving Epic seven years prior, Nipsey aligned himself with a major record company at the end of 2017. He announced a partnership with Atlantic Records that would, just a few months later, lead to the release of his first studio album, *Victory Lap*. “It’s not a traditional artist to a label signing,” he told me in 2017. “It’s more of us partnering with Atlantic and utilizing their specialties and their strengths to move what we’ve been doing to the next platform in terms of recognition, fan base, access to radio, access to retail, and utilize their staff, and tapping into a specialist.”

youtu.be

For the first time since leaving Epic seven years prior, Nipsey aligned himself with a major record company at the end of 2017. He announced a partnership with Atlantic Records that would, just a few months later, lead to the release of his first studio album, *Victory Lap*. “It’s not a traditional artist to a label signing,” he told me in 2017. “It’s more of us partnering with Atlantic and utilizing their specialties and their strengths to move what we’ve been doing to the next platform in terms of recognition, fan base, access to radio, access to retail, and utilize their staff, and tapping into a specialist.”

13 years into his career, Nipsey released his debut album, Victory Lap. It debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200, moving 53,000 album equivalent units. In a measure of the devotion of the rapper’s fanbase, 30,000 of those were actual album sales, a much higher ratio than most chart-topping rap acts. — youtu.be

13 years into his career, Nipsey released his debut album, *Victory Lap*. It debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200, moving 53,000 album equivalent units. In a measure of the devotion of the rapper’s fanbase, 30,000 of those were actual album sales, a much higher ratio than most chart-topping rap acts.

youtu.be

13 years into his career, Nipsey released his debut album, *Victory Lap*. It debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200, moving 53,000 album equivalent units. In a measure of the devotion of the rapper’s fanbase, 30,000 of those were actual album sales, a much higher ratio than most chart-topping rap acts.

youtu.be

The month before his murder, Nipsey released what would turn out to be his final single, the Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy-featuring “Racks in the Middle.” It was supposed to be the lead single from a forthcoming album. “The next project is going to be more of a chapter one to something new,” he said at the time.

youtu.be

The month before his murder, Nipsey released what would turn out to be his final single, the Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy-featuring “Racks in the Middle.” It was supposed to be the lead single from a forthcoming album. “The next project is going to be more of a chapter one to something new,” he said at the time.

John Legend, Nipsey, and DJ Khaled spent what turned out to be the last Thursday of Nipsey’s life filming a video for what Legend called “a beautiful new song.” Not much is known about the track beyond its existence at this point, except that it is supposed to appear on Khaled’s next project, Father of Asahd. Khaled shared what appeared to be several photos from the set.

RIP Nipsey. I just spent Thursday with him filming a video for a beautiful new song we created with Khaled. We filmed in Inglewood, close to where he grew up. He was so gifted, so proud of his home, so invested in his community. Utterly stunned that he's gone so soon.
— John Legend (@johnlegend) April 1, 2019

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Remembering Nipsey Hussle Through His Biggest Musical Achievements

December, 2005: First mixtape, ‘Slauson Boy Vol. 1’

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August and December, 2008: ‘Bullets Ain’t Got No Name’

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December 16, 2008: First single(s)

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November, 2009: Drake collaboration

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April, 2010: XXL Freshman

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October, 2010: First Billboard appearance

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December, 2010: Leaves Epic

December 21, 2010: ‘The Marathon’

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February 25, 2012: Hot 100 chart success

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June 26, 2012: MMG?

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October 15, 2013: Proud2Pay

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March 30, 2016: F*** Donald Trump

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November, 2017: Partnership with Atlantic

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February 16, 2018: ‘Victory Lap’ released

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December 7, 2018: A Grammy nod

February 15, 2019: The final single

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March 28, 2019: Video shoot

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