Every year it seems Hip Hop loses another influential voice in the culture way too young to gun violence. Two that left an indelible mark on rap are Nipsey Hussle and Young Dolph, who were killed in their hometowns of Los Angeles and Memphis in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
In a recent interview with HotNewHipHop, Rick Ross compared the losses of Dolph and Neighborhood Nip to that of ’90s Hip Hop deities Biggie Smalls and 2Pac.
“Losing Nipsey and Dolph for this generation, I’m sure, was just as equivalent or greater to what [Biggie Smalls] or [2Pac] was for my generation,” he proclaimed.
Rick Ross once nearly signed Nipsey Hussle to his Maybach Music Group imprint circa 2013. The West Coast icon detailed why he ultimately decided to refuse the lucrative offer from his “Fountain of Youth” collaborator in favor of staying on his independent journey during a 2018 interview with Big Boy’s Neighborhood.
Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, G-Eazy, Toosii + More Bless Social Media With Nipsey Hussle Tributes On 2nd Death Anniversary
“I was gonna do the deal when Ross put the MMG thing on the table” Nip said. “Just the terms and the way Ross set up [things], and the way the conversation started in that building, it was a great opportunity. It was a great situation. I just had a concern with my team getting credit for breaking Nipsey Hussle, so I necessarily didn’t want to take that from my team.
“I would have took that deal. Even just outside of the terms, just how Ross hustles. I believe in Ross as a hustler. Everything he said and done, every convo we had, every time I sent a verse he executed it. So I got a lot of respect for Rozay, so I would have just done it off GP. But I got a team I committed to ahead of time, and I had to make sure they got the credit for what they did.”
March 9 marks 25 years since Biggie Smalls was tragically gunned down in Los Angeles. To celebrate the late Brooklyn legend’s legacy, his estate is releasing the official Life After Death 25th Anniversary Super Deluxe Box Set on June 10.
You have to be kidding me, this comparison is so insulting. Pac and B.I.G. had and still have a huge impact musical and culturally to this day. RIP to Dolph and Nipsey but in 5 or 10 years they won’t be talked about in the way Ross is trying to state. Their impact is to their region and localized not worldwide like Pac and BIG. Ricky quit playing yourself …
The comparison really isn’t insulting. Nip definitely has a huge cultural influence on hip hop. The biggie and pac stuff is kind of played out tbh, no disrespect, they’re still Legends. But around the time they passed Nas, prodigy, rakim, havoc, Jay z, snoop, wu-tang, OutKast, gang Starr, and tribe were all making equally as great music as pac and biggie. It’s not like it was just pac and biggie who made rap blow up. I don’t think they left a bigger mark than any of the artists I just listed.
Your reply is laughable for the fact that I didn’t bring up any other rappers impact because this isn’t what the article is about. In your reply you try to change the narrative and I did not say that PAC and BIG had the only impact either. I was talking worldwide ….again nipsey and dolph are more regional not global. Please try again and rationalize better with what the article is about
Biggie and 2Pac weren’t global in the 90s like rappers are today.
I am talking current day, Not back in the 90’s…
He’s saying that it isn’t insulting because there are many rappers who have contributed to hip hop and Dolph and Nipsey also made their contribution and in years to come, their music may pave the way for future artists like Pac and Big’s did. Big and Pac aren’t untouchable, it’s okay to make comparisons.
STFU, GTFOH! Not even close.
nip did fill up staples thats mj status but la has 20M people, nip was def slept on though has a message in the music a master wordsmith, dolf was some dr suess trap rap which has its place but if biggy 1-2 nip prob in top 50 if ya give a spot to 1 rapper a year since the genesis…..dolf would be top 500ish
lmao comparing two rap legends with young dolph and nipsey….these rappers’ brains be messed up for real.
Cultural impact or influence from Pac and Big is felt till this day and they were the kings of the East/West, whereas Nip/Dolph are moreso kings of their cities and hometown heroes fr. Nipsey is somewhat closer to Pac due to coast affiliation and some shared principles but PAC/BIG were much younger with bigger statures in the game and personified their respective coasts. Rest In Peace to the Fallen.
I actually don’t disagree with him. I think Pac and Biggie may have had a larger influence but music has changed alot and the new generation valued those guys alot more than us (im in my early 30s) I was a big Dolph fan tho so I get it. We get caught up in which artists are considered legendary to us when its a whole new generation that has their own legends. Their list is guaranteed to be different than the 30 n over crowd.