Lessons from Nipsey: You gotta grind and sacrifice all your life to get it

Once an artist goes mainstream, it seems as if they lose their essence. It hurts. It’s every fan’s fear lowkey and it makes sense why. The authenticity in their music becomes either watered down or overzealous.

However, there are a handful of artists that never switch no matter how much notoriety they receive. One of those artists is Nipsey Hussle.

From the streets to the corporate world, Nipsey Hussle is no stranger to the grind. And on the track “Grinding All My Life,” he explains his journey.

His upbringing can be traced back to Crenshaw, Los Angeles, where he Nip was getting it out the mud. After joining the Rollin 60’s Crips, as detailed in the album, Nip Hussle hustled.

With death and violence surrounding Neighborhood Nip, being scared was not an option. While possessing the heart of a lion, Nip survived numerous shootouts, arrests, and the hood politics that come along with it.

Through it all, it has helped him become the mogul he is today. During an interview with NPR, Nip said,

“I wanted to tell the truth. All my life I’ve been grinding. I stopped going to school when I was 14 and I was self-educated since then. But I pursued hustling and music full-time since then.”

Before taking on the rap game, Nipsey Hussle came into the rap game with a business plan and a vision. After learning how much guap he could make as a rapper doing shows, Nip decided to go legit and focused his energy on music.

In 2005, Nip introduced himself into the hip-hop game with Slauson Boy Vol. 1 and the rest was history.

Hussle’s grind doesn’t solely revolve around his music either. The same business acumen he used on the streets is being displayed through virtually all his moves.

The money he’s accumulated with his slick bars has put him in position to reinvent his community. By reinvesting his money back into his community, Nip is making his hood a tourist attraction.

In the summer of 2017, he birthed The Marathon Store in Crenshaw, providing work for the people he grew up with. In February of 2018, Nip opened a STEM school in his neighborhood, aiming to bridge the gap between underprivileged students and privileged students.

During an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Nip said,

“Growing up as a kid, I was looking for somebody — not to give me anything — but somebody that cared someone that was creating the potential for change and that had an agenda outside of their own self-interests.”

The truth in Nip’s music is what continues to gravitate listeners toward him. “Grinding All My Life” is not just a song. It’s a lifestyle. If you don’t grind, you don’t eat.

Get off your ass, hustle, stack it up, and reinvest!