Nipsey Hussle Finished a Vulnerable, Relationship-Themed Album Before He Passed. Seven Years Later, It’s Finally Here

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It’s been seven years since Nipsey Hussle passed away, right on the heels of his debut studio project Victory Lap competing for a Best Rap Album Grammy, at a moment when it felt like the longtime West Coast leader was about to cross over in a major, mainstream way. Posthumous tracks have trickled out since then (I’m especially partial to the ethereal “Perfect Ten,” which plays almost as if he’s talking from the grave.) But earlier this month, the first official project comprised of unreleased Nipsey songs finally dropped.
The album, Prolific, is a collaborative effort with fellow LA rapper Bino Rideaux, who Nipsey had taken under his wing during his last years. Their plan was to release it after Victory Lap’s Grammy run in 2018—and to shock listeners with a swerve in both sound and theme. Nipsey’s always been one to put his pain and struggle on wax, but Prolific is decidedly sentimental and relationship-themed. (Nipsey’s relationship with longtime partner Lauren London was famously immortalized in the pages of this very magazine.) I sat down with Bino at the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel pool, which holds a special resonance with this project in particular, to talk about how it came together, where Nipsey’s headspace was at when he recorded it, and why now is the right time for the world to hear it.

GQ: We’re sitting here at the Hollywood Roosevelt pool. Tell me what this place’s significance is to this record.
Bino Rideaux: Nip used to just come book a room up here, like “Man, let’s just go catch a vibe. Let’s leave the studio.” We’d be in the studio 24 hours a day and he’d say, “Let’s go to the Roosevelt and just listen to [what we made].” All of us, the producers—Mike & Keys, Axl Foley—we’d all be at that bar playing shit on Beats Pills. They’d be working on more production off their laptops and we’d just sit out here, vibe out, listen to this shit, drinking champagne. That’s actually the album cover—a picture of us just chilling literally right here.
And these sessions are when, after Victory Lap?
Right after Victory Lap was finished. It wasn’t out yet. It was getting last minute touch-ups while we started on this.
What was it about the Roosevelt that he liked so much?
It’s so authentically LA. It is beautiful, but you get that energy, the cabana-beach vibe, but in the middle of Hollywood. Can’t beat that.
Rolling it back, how did your relationship with Nipsey even come about?
Nip was … a mentor, you know what I’m saying? He reached out first off of Casey Veggies’ phone. Casey used to call me everyday, but this time it was just Nip on FaceTime and he just said “Pull up.” Man, I pulled up fast as hell.
He had heard your stuff?
Well, that’s what I was assuming at the time. I never really asked him what made him call me that day. At the time, I was making a little bit of noise in the streets of LA type shit. So I knew it was only a matter of time because I always said if I had to link up with anybody, it was bro. I wanted him to respect it. So when he reached out, I pulled up just ready to do whatever, bro. After that, we pulled up every day.
So from there, you just caught a creative vibe kind of instantly?
Exactly. We made two songs that [first] day: “Field” and “Clarity,” with Young Dolph and Dave East.
Why do you think you guys hit it off so well, so quickly? Was it just being from the same area and already having that built-in dialogue? Or what was it more so the art you were creating?
I always wondered that. A lot of people from the neighborhood do music. So I still always question why it was me. I just know I pulled up willing to learn, and willing to play any role for the mission. Even if the spotlight wasn’t on me, I was adamant on showing my intent. I was there to support. I kind of stepped back from my own campaign to play my role in this one. I was a solo artist and I was pulling up whenever it was needed. We was in the studio every day. Then the Victory Lap tour, last day of rehearsal, he’s like, “You’re going to open up the show.” I used to go with him everywhere… business seminars in Toronto, I don’t know what nobody talking about, then we’d get back in the car and he’s breaking it down to me. Shit like that.
What’s a lesson that he imparted on you that still sticks with you? Something maybe he didn’t even know he was teaching but you still hold with you to this day?
I always just refer to quality and intent. That’s for music, outside of music. Quality and intent always.
Pressing play on the album cold, I was just struck by the vibe and tone. I’m used to hearing Nip talk that street shit—songs like “Last Time That I Checc’d,” “Rap N-ggas”… the Bullets Ain’t Got No Name tapes. Prolific is very tender and about a lot of emotions. What was it about your artistry that put him in this zone?
I don’t think it was my music that did it. I feel like this is just something that Nip wanted to try out. Ultimately even at the start of the project sessions, we were [both] dealing with some things in life. Shooting the shit in the studio, we were talking about relationships. sharing similar situations and things like that. It became, We’re going to do an album about this. Nip was always intentional with the subject matter.
So he broke it down of how he was going to do it. We already knew we had to approach the topic in a more vulnerable way than we used to. So I feel like Nip was already in the headspace of experimenting sonically. I feel like it was something he’d been wanting to try out, honestly.
Yeah it’s interesting because, like you said, there’s a lot of vulnerability to it and it is very relationship-centered, almost in a way that feels geared towards a female audience.
I feel like the fellas can connect too because, it’s still Hussle. He’s speaking as the hustler, to the woman. A lot of times [hustlers] are in situations where we might not know how to convey certain messages to a female. And Hussle is showing you how to say Look, this shit is going on and you got to understand. We’re really showing them you got to break it down. Good and bad. All sides. How to navigate through this life, and get the females to really understand what’s going on at the same time.
“Mean It” is a nice departure from the theme—it’s just you guys flossing.
Yeah, you know you have them days. She got to feel that. That’s how you got her in the first place. And Ty Dolla $ign came with the crazy hook on that.
Speaking of Ty, he’s also on a crazy record with Cardi B.
That was supposed to be a Victory Lap track. He had that song back then. But he felt it made more sense on what we were doing for this.
What’s also interesting is, I look at Victory Lap and I know Nipsey had been sitting on some of those songs for a minute. Whereas these tracks sound like the result of very current, immediate thoughts.
Yeah, I don’t know. For me it’s always like all Hussle music sounds timeless. I don’t know how to explain it but, it all sound like it could have come out yesterday.
No one else was quite like him when it came to making records that could sit on the shelf for three to five years and not sound dated when they finally come out. What was it about his process that nets that?
I just know he really stressed the intent behind the music and the quality of it.
Talk a little bit about your own musical influences and what you want to execute in your solo career.
My shit kind of broad, I listen to everything. I just appreciate music, even outside of hip-hop. If you make me feel the way, I’m fucking with it. I tap into it and try to understand it. As soon as I hear some shit, I got to dive all the way into the world of that fucking artist and know everything.
I’ve been grabbing bits and pieces from everywhere. I had uncles and shit that was playing hella West Coast shit. Obviously Snoop, Dre, West Side Connection, all the west side greats… Ice Cube. But I have appreciation for R&B, old school shit. You know you got Lauryn Hill. I went through a Tribe phase. I remember I got my first iPod for Christmas, I downloaded this LL Cool J music video… “I’m Bad.” I used to watch that every day on that iPod. So it would just be real random shit.
You played an interesting position in these sessions, because it’s a collaboration, but it feels like you’re getting him in a zone too and adding production elements, writing elements. It’s very much a two-hander.
Right, it can go any way. I didn’t understand it at the time, but I feel like Nip trusted me musically. Sometimes I’d kick it off or I’d be working on a vibe and maybe Nip just walked up in the studio and he’d pop his head in like Oh, this is kind of hard. It was a big back-and-forth thing, but I feel like I brought a different element. With Nip, we know the bars are gonna be crazy, but I can come with this hook and it’s gonna set a different tone. There’s an offset there, but it’s never, like, a competitive sound. It’s always collaborative, because our sounds don’t conflict. It’s a dope vibe.
You started in earnest on this around like 2016 or 2017. Fast-forward to 2018-2019, and Nipsey really blows up. Victory Lap is everywhere. He gets nominated for a Grammy. How surreal was it once that took off, to be in the mix making this new music and shaping the next direction?
I feel like every part of it was surreal.This is my dog, this is my brother. I’m still a fan. Everything’s surreal at all times. But at that moment it’s like, just being able to witness it. Seeing him at that Victory Lap level was crazy just because I saw just major growth every day.
You guys were in the studio every day, recording for years. Does this represent the last of the vault, or is there more material that you could see coming out one day? Stuff that maybe you weren’t even a part of, but you witnessed, that you think the streets, the people, and the city would love to hear?
There’s definitely more laps in the marathon. There’s more to come for sure. More stuff I’m working on. All Money In is working on. It’s a lot.
What does it mean to you all these years later to be able to finally put this project out and honor the work that you guys put in?
It means everything. I feel like we deserve for it to be out. The people deserve it. The city deserves it. So it’s a bittersweet moment.
Is it heavy to be on this promo tour, putting the music out and talking about it?
Hell yeah.
Is it a little cathartic as well, at least?
It’s more so I’d rather be doing it with him. But, I gotta do it. I carry it as an obligation.

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