The Marathon Continues ... Nipsey Hussle: 'Victory Lap' (Album Review)
The first track I ever heard from Nipsey Hussle was “Killer”, which actually featured another huge artist in the game, Drake. One of the homies put me on. I didn’t know who he was. I'm almost 90 percent sure the reason told me about it was because Drizzy was on it. All I remember was saying the track "GO HARD" (circa 2009 lingo) and downloading it to my MP3 player. I continued to follow him but I truly knew I would forever be sold after Crenshaw dropped. I wish I can go back and probably swap the word I used. Fast forward probably 9 years since that day, and many laps later, Nip's debut album Victory Lap has just released. Now this is GO HARD.
All die hard fans heard Nipsey mention Victory Lap many times throughout his projects, it was just a matter of WHEN. It was almost like hearing Dre’s DETOX being mentioned. We heard about the independent wave he was on. We heard about the business moves… all this while waiting. Then BOOM! Dropping nothing but audio middle-fingers track after track, sprinkled with hella game, Hussle-Man gave us the definition of SOLID . Hopefully these suckers are paying attention. All offense should be taken.
Throughout the project Nipsey takes us back to the hood like always, sharing experiences ANY hood can identify with (check Blue Laces 2 for all the real fans) while dropping gems for those making it out of the struggle. And that's real. Favorite track? Track 5. Dedication. Features Compton’s Kendrick Lamar. No words do it justice. Just listen to it and "you’ll hear just what I’m saying... dedicationnnnnnnn" (Nipsey Hussle voice). A runner-up is tooo hard to even pick from the bunch. (Back of my mind is saying Double Up got that Dom Verse though LOL).
Dedication is a Go-Getta’s anthem but F that. This is a Go-Getta's album. Real music has nothing to do with sales, nor does it have to do with commercial success. I'm not sure how many streams or how many nominations he'll get but I say that to say this: If Victory Lap doesn’t get album of the year THE GAME IS RIGGED. Peace.