Nipsey Hussle Celebrates 2018 With "Perfect Timing"

Image Credit: Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records and All Money In recording artist Nipsey Hussle is wrapping up his incredible 2018 with the release of a brand new track. “Perfect Timing” – produced by SAP and Mike & Keys – is available today at all DSPs and streaming services HERE.

Meanwhile, “VICTORY LAP,” Hussle’s acclaimed new LP, has proven one of the year’s most celebrated, including a GRAMMY® Award nomination for “Best Rap Album.” The album has also been placed among a number of year-end lists, including Billboard‘s “50 Best Albums of 2018: Critics’ Picks,” which wrote, “Few tropes in hip-hop are more eyeroll-inducing than rapping with a barely-suppressed yawn about how life is like a movie. But there’s always been something grandly cinematic about veteran Los Angeles MC Nipsey Hussle’s music and delivery, and for an album like ‘VICTORY LAP’ – somehow, a decade after signing his first deal, still his ‘proper’ debut album – the claim feels neither tired nor lazy.” In addition, “VICTORY LAP” came in at #6 on Complex‘s “The Best Albums of 2018” while also landing high on both HotNewHipHop‘s “Top 30 Hottest Hip-Hop Albums Of 2018” and DJ Booth‘s “50 Best Hip-Hop and R&B Albums of 2018, Ranked” the latter declaring the LP to be “a treasure trove of game that speaks directly to the ambitious hustler within all listeners. The long-awaited major label debut has the motivational spirit of a Ted Talk, is inspiring as the autobiography of Puffy Combs, and is filled with pristine production that will make you believe Rick Ross handled the A&R. ‘VICTORY LAP’ is music that encourages the endless possibilities available to the hungry, resourceful, and innovative.”

For his part, Hussle himself recently told Billboard in an exclusive full-length feature that “VICTORY LAP” is, in fact, “the best rap album of 2018,” adding, “I just wanted to do something timeless and that years from now, you’d enjoy it and say, That was classic hip-hop right there. That’s what our genre sounds like [at its best].”

As if all that weren’t enough, Hussle recently sat down with Rolling Stone for an exclusive chat about his GRAMMY® nomination and is currently featured TIDAL’s “Rap Radar” podcast (streaming HERE.)

“VICTORY LAP“ – available on vinyl and cassette exclusively at ihussle.com – includes the hit singles “Dedication (Feat. Kendrick Lamar),” “Last Time That I Checc’d (Feat. YG),” and “Rap Niggas,” each available now at all DSPs and streaming services. The latter two tracks are joined by provocative companion visuals, each now boasting more than 15 million individual plays via Hussle’s official YouTube channel. Hussle also unveiled cinematic style companion visuals for “Double Up (Feat. Dom Kennedy & Belly)” and “Status Symbol 3 (Feat. Buddy).”

Hussle’s studio debut album, “VICTORY LAP” – which gathers a stunning assortment of featured guests, including Puff Daddy, The-Dream, Ceelo Green, and more – made a top 5 debut on the SoundScan/Billboard 200 upon its arrival earlier this year while simultaneously drawing international critical applause. Rolling Stone noted, “The wait or timing doesn’t matter since this is timeless West Coast rap.” “Debuts are usually albums of firsts,” wrote Pitchfork, “but ‘VICTORY LAP’ is full of sequels and standards.” “Hussle effortlessly claims his place as crown prince of G-funk’s new school,” wrote The Guardian, while Complex raved, “It’s clear that (Hussle) can rap circles around most of his peers.” “‘VICTORY LAP’ Lap is more than an anticipated major-label debut,” declared NPR Music, “it’s a testament to the independent grind (Hussle) employed to cultivate a dedicated fanbase.” “Bottom line,” pronounced Music Connection, “Nip’s a healthy blend between old school and new school rap, and he’s already proven to possess characteristics of Jay-Z, Master P and E-40, all in one”

Hussle celebrated “VICTORY LAP” with a major U.S. headline tour and a number of show-stealing festival appearances including the #REVOLVEfestival at Coachella and Washington, DC’s Broccoli City Festival. Additional live dates will be announced soon – for updates, please see ihussle.com.

Founded in 2010, the Crenshaw, CA-based All Money In made an epochal debut with its very first release, “THE MARATHON,” marking label founder Hussle’s fifth official mixtape and follow-up to his introductory “BULLETS AIN’T GOT NO NAME” trilogy. Named among XXL’s “100 Best Mixtapes of 2010,” the collection was quickly followed by 2011’s “THE MARATHON CONTINUES” and then 2013’s “CRENSHAW,” the latter proving a media sensation when over one thousand first edition cassettes priced at $100 each were sold out in less than 24 hours at an All Money In pop-up shop in Fairfax, CA. 2014 saw Hussle embark on the nationwide “Crenshaw Tour” before unleashing his next mixtape, “MAILBOX MONEY,” this time available in a 100-copy limited edition priced at $1000.

“SLAUSON BOY 2” made its debut in 2016, comprising 17 tracks first released as part of Hussle’s weekly #MarathonMonday series. That same year also saw Hussle team with YG for the landmark single, “FDT (F*** Donald Trump,” praised by the Los Angeles Times as “the most prophetic, wrathful and unifying protest song of 2016.”

Along with his work as a lead artist, Hussle has collaborated with a veritable who’s-who of contemporary hip hop, including YG, Jadakiss, Childish Gambino, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, 2 Chainz, DJ Mustard, Ty Dolla $ign, and countless others.

2017 saw the grand opening of his first Marathon Clothing smartstore, a brick-and-mortar retail establishment allowing customers to use smart technology to make purchases and preview exclusive content. Located at 3420 W. Slauson Avenue in Los Angeles, the Marathon Clothing smartstore has drawn wide-ranging media and business coverage, including a major feature interview with Hussle in Billboard.

Perhaps more significantly, Hussle marked the release of “VICTORY LAP” by kickstarting his new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) initiative with the official opening of the “Too Big To Fail” center in his beloved Crenshaw, CA. Created in partnership with Vector90, STEM encourages design thinking and innovation in local youth, centered around impact hubs where neighborhood youth can feed off of each other’s talent, creativity, and support. Additional STEM academies are schedule to open throughout the year. For more information, please see www.toobigtofail.org.

Hussle also partnered with the iconic sportswear brand, PUMA, to renovate elementary school basketball courts in Crenshaw, chronicled in both a recent self-penned essay in The Players Tribune as well as an exclusive interview on Fox’s Good Day L.A. (streaming HERE).

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