At the outset of Nipsey Hussle’s career, The Game was one of the first rap veterans to help him out by bringing him on tour as his opener. This didn’t sit well with some folks, however — namely The Game’s fellow Bloods, as Nipsey claimed membership in a notorious Crip set at the time. Game admitted as much in a heartfelt Instagram post where he reminisced about the beginnings of his friendship with the late, great Victory Lap rapper.
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“Had hella fights & fell out with 1/2 my hood the time I took you on tour,” he wrote. “A young blood n—- from the westside of Compton bringing a gang of rollin 60’s crips on tour was doing the most. I had to explain daily to my homies, how it was bigger than Compton, bigger than LA & that having that state of mind would only get us so far.”
He also remembered a time when fans didn’t really rock with Nipsey’s music because he didn’t yet have the stature he would come to hold before his untimely death at the age of 33. “Nip used to hit the stage & perform and nobody would really be into it because like any new artist, people don’t know your music or aren’t familiar with your face so the 1st time you touch the stage they just stare at you waiting to see what energy you put out before they give theirs back.”
He detailed the advice he gave the younger Hussle: “I told my n—- the same thing happened to me when @snoopdogg took me on tour, u just gotta push through bro.” While the rap game mourns Nipsey’s loss along with his family and friends, his career still remains an example for anyone setting out to chase a dream. You get the energy back that you put out — and Nipsey Hussle put out some truly powerful energy.
