Nipsey Hussle – “Crenshaw” (Mixtape Review) DX Consensus: “Free Album (the highest possible praise for a mixtape)”
Prior to its release, there was much ado made about Nipsey Hussle’s plans to charge $100 apiece for his “Crenshaw” mixtape. The talk came whether or not people understood that a ticket to an upcoming “Proud 2 Pay” concert came along with the physical copy of the mixtape, and many of those who knew the project would be available as a free digital download couldn’t understand the seemingly exorbitant price tag. As such, some wrote the project off. Lost in a lot of the talking was the fact that Nipsey Hussle has built a loyal fan base through his consistency. On “Outro” from his “The Marathon Cotinues” mixtape, Nipsey rapped, “They tellin’ me they believe, and I got style for days / And when I do drop an album, they’ll be proud to pay.” When “Crenshaw” dropped, fans spoke with their wallets, and what they gave was an overwhelmingly positive response. “Crenshaw” continues Nipsey’s streak of dropping quality projects.
Nipsey Hussle’s music pays homage to the “Gangster Rap” of the ‘90s, where in very plain view of listeners—amongst the shootouts and drugs mainstream media focused on—were honest perspectives of the circumstances faced in inner cities across America. On “Change Nothing,” Nip raps, “Now this is the reality we wrestle with / Where every nigga down to die for what he represent / Where every murder is a mission rooted in revenge / You make it out alive in one piece, you set precedent…” While not part of his “Marathon” mixtapes, you can hear the ideologies of that series when Nipsey raps, “I swore to the world if I made it out / The truth about these LA streets and all what they about / The paranoid emotions, will they stake us out / When we pull up thick in some foreign shit at the geisha house / The loses that we took when they raid the house / The vision that I seen when I laid it out / The only important thing is the paper route / The motto I embody, the prophecy when I played it out…”
Nipsey has never been overly reliant on multi-syllabic words or punchlines for the sake of proving lyrical ability. His plain language allows him to paint pictures and/or relay messages that relate to the average person, and his avoidance of punchlines helps him to avoid the clichés used by emcees insistent on trying to prove their wittiness. “Face The World” is a great example of such, and a good song overall. Over a 9th Wonder production, featuring a sped-up sample of Rhinoceros’ “That Time Of The Year,” Hussle closes out the track with the following:
“I bet my life, I’m a dice shaker / Electric lights on a skyscraper / It’s ups and downs for a real nigga, but you’ll be fake all your life hater / MAC-10 in my black Benz / Show me signals of betrayal, can’t be back friends / Long flights get my mind right / Victory to me is when you spend your time right / Victory to me is when you get your grind right / Victory to me is when you get your moms right / Niggas got this shit twisted / Like Jean-Michel Basquiat destroying his pictures / Self-inflicted homicide, don’t pull the trigger / I feel like I got to tell you, you got something to contribute / Regardless what you into, regardless what you been through / I feel like I got to tell you, you got something to contribute…”
If Officer Coffey’s conversation with Trey from Boyz N The Hood didn’t set the tone on the intro, Nipsey and his collaborators are sure to. “Crenshaw” is very much a Los Angeles event, and many of the city’s brightest young stars show up to assist. Dom Kennedy appears on “Checc Me Out” and “H-Town,” both of which also featuring Slauson Boy affiliate Cobby Supreme, with Teeflii and Skeme assisting on the latter as well. While Nipsey, Skeme, Teefli, Cobby, and Dom create an anthem sure to play in the streets of LA, two actual Houston representatives appear later on “Go Long.” “H-Town” might demand replay, but “Go Long” lacks the impact. Elsewhere, “Summertime In That Cutlass,” produced by up and coming Los Angeles production crew, The Futuristics, probably provides the sound most identifiably Californian on “Crenshaw.” Over the laid back production, led by drums and wobbly bass, Nipsey reminisces over hustling, standing his ground, and murder. The fact that the combination feels right, and comes off effortless speaks to Nipsey’s diversity. Whether pushing listeners to chase dreams over 9th Wonder’s boom bap production or telling stories of the streets of South Central over an undeniably West Coast sound, Nipsey Hussle’s appears to be just as at home as he would be on the street the mixtape is named after.
Nipsey is equally comfortable speaking to the fairer sex when the tempo slows on “4 In The Morning” and “If U Were Mine.” The clarity of expression that Nipsey consistently displays allows listeners to feel like they relate to him, and there’s no disconnect with his image. This creates a palpable feeling of authenticity—something often claimed by artists, but rarely felt by listeners—in a genre that demands artists “keep it real.”
The “Bullets Ain’t Got No Name” series was music straight off Slauson Avenue; it was Hip Hop from a South Central state of mind. With his “Marathon” series, Nipsey offered himself as a Slauson boy, matured, and free of label politics. “Crenshaw” is where the two sets of projects meet up. While he may have never strayed far from the streets of Los Angeles, “Crenshaw” is like a homecoming for the artist that dropped the last two “Marathon” mixtapes, bringing the growth and maturity shown on the “Marathon” series back to a project that bares a close resemblance to the “Bullets Ain’t Got No Name” tapes. While not without its flaws, at its high points (of which there are many) “Crenshaw” is on par, or above what a lot of artists have put on shelves as of late. This should serve as a wake-up call to Hussle’s competition, considering these are supposed to be the songs that couldn’t make Nipsey’s next project “The Marathon 3: Victory Lap.”
g
Not a bad mixtape I’m glad somebody put that Crenshaw movie clip in mp3 format though. 4/5
the movie is called Boyz N the Hood
rhymes:3/5
beats:3/5
content:3/5
dont pretend its super dope just cause hes from crenshaw and you think thats cool
5/5 My opinion
some white boy in my class paid $100 for this trash nigga
funny thing is i bet it was mostly white kids who bought this shit apart from his friends and fam and of course Jay-Z buying up 10% of the copies available!
y’all out ya mind. That tape was deff worth $100. Remember, he also offered it for free, but naw. THAT SHIT DESERVES 6/6!
a bunch of throwaways. i could not listen to it all the way thru. 1 star for being $100
Dumb-overrated.
and who are we calling retail artists???face it all these guys suck rap is horrible the beats suck its all fruity loop cracked copy weirdo producers who wouldnt know what a mpc is if it was dropped on their head stop acting like this fake I have a mansion and a lambo when they live with their mom culture is anything real or close to dope.simple and plain listeners dont have 200000 iced watches or chains dont drive a rolls and dont have a mansion stop thinking this is real shit clowns.
thought it was average didn’t like the most the beats bullets aint got no name series n marathon were far better 3/5
I thought it was dope 4/5. I did like The Marathon and TMC more though. There was a lot of floss on this. More so than the other ones. But still had some bangin tracks. Bunch of haters on this… and BTW that 100 dollar CD included tickets for concert, poster, and autographed which I thought was pretty cool. Haters gonna hate.
This was alright but I wish he had some better beats on this. He should get some production from Polyester. He’s a dope producer who’s beats scream California.
nip
Is there a NODJ Version of the tape ?
for $100 bucks you should get a no DJ version, instrumentals, accapellas and a blow job
Pay me double!
Bangerrrr
Trillness
Great
This is a really great mixtape and these are just the throwaways… I honestly can’t wait for Victory Lap now!
k
I gave this tape a listen twice, just wasn’t feeling it. He carried very “Jim Jones-like” flow for most of the songs. Overall though, just mediocre in my opinion.
Giving Nipsey 5 stars for this game-changing release.
Love the inspiration! Great beats. Great features. 5 star for sure.
It’s time to reclaim the culture……FIRE THE MAJORS.
Classic! Nipsey is battin 1000!
MIXTAPE OF THE YEAR
PROUD2PAY ALL MONEY IN NO MONEY OUT. CONGRATS TO THE WHOLE TEAM
I got a $100.00 bet against my homey that Nipsey actually sold 1,000 copies of this mixtape. How can I prove this, since no soundscan. I went to the site where you order the $100.00 mixtapes and he still taking orders order. I’m not trying to lose a franklin when I beleive the movement and that 900 people bought those cds. raw
Ask Nipsey himself via phone or email, since rappers are always telling the 100% truth anyway! Or alternatively (I don’t know, just a quick idea from the top of my head) you could have place bet on things that both of you being able to check independently from a trustworthy source?
I expected a little more from this Snoop Dogg/Prodigy hybrid. Can’t believe I actually threw away $100 when it could have been spent on something practical like groceries. Lackluster beats, generic flow, clich substance matter. If you’re looking for a rapper that can actually hold your interest and has replay value, I suggest you check out Problem. 2.3/5
you were joking about wasting your $100 on this shit right?
Nope. Dead serious. I bought the mix tape with my hard earned money. Hundred dollars down the drain. Oh well, at least it makes a good weed plate.
n
no single album is worth $100
X’s will be Kanye’s will be and so will Schoolboy Q
naw
kanyes shit is free for life he dont need no money
Kanye’s last album was terrible so his next one will be too and Schoolboy Q is a generic average party rapper. Deserving of purchasing a single or two but not an $100 album.
“go long” go hard
@ Kenny Raw, get your money nigga…hov bought a 1,000 copies himself. You can just Google it
100
there was only 1000 total
Nips best work ever put out. DOM AND NIP HAVE PUT OUT THE BEST TWO ALBUMS OF THE YEAR ! Every song is on point ,cameos sick , beats tight and lyrics hard hitting. I havent heard many rappers drop efforts like this in a while .With cats nowadays you always have to skip the tracks. Only two other cats that have style and quality are krit and dom. 4.2/5
Nip hussle the great
STRAIGHT UP FIRE
Nipsey on top
Turn up
Refreshing!
A FEW DOPE SHIT BUT NOTHING WORTH GOING JAY Z CRAZY OVER THIS TAPE
this tape wasnt as good as his others imo but remember that these are his throw away tracks the ones that didnt make his album.his album will be a banger
nipsey looks like a skinny version of prodigy
Best overall mixtape of the year great feature cohesion, production, & flow err song is decent from start to finish and then outta of all em songs half u can keep on repeat
CLASSIC! NIPSEY KEEPS EVOLVING EVERY TAPE
One of the best in the West showing hip hop that the east is no long the destination for lyrical artist
This mixtape is fire.
Great tape, not as good as tmc tho, been listening to it for 2 years now.
CLASSIC S/O @nipseyhussle for keeping the west on top
How in the hell does this only have a 4.08? Real talk there is not one track you can skip. The only reason you fuck niggas hating is becuz he sold it for $100!!! Get ur weight up not ur hate. 5/5
Don’t Take Days Off is on of the hardest track on this tape.
The chosen one
I represent the same area he grew up in so I can relate to everything hes feels well worth 100 dollars thats cuzz im a boss
Tape fire. Thats all
I’ve always thought that Nipsey is in a class above most other rappers, and this tape just reinforces it even more. It’s consistent and just too fucking dope! I’m glad to see the West Coast back on top, putting out original gangsta ass shit like this.
great effort. better than most albums