The Count’em Up artist has used a number of different promotional tactics this year, one in particular including charging his fans $1,000 for a physical copy of his album Mailbox Money. Surprisingly enough, it seems that the weighty price of the project has not driven fans away, selling 60 of 100 copies in its first week of release. Nipsey Hussle certainly has a motive behind his actions, reaching out to fans on a personal level and aiming to understand their reasons for throwing bands on a pricey LP that is available to download for free digitally.

It seems that Nipsey’s decision for a high price tag does not entirely lie on the matter of money, as Nipsey’s overseeing vision is actually to inspire others. This is reflected through his explanation:

“The connection I have with these people helps me to understand the psychology of the person paying $1,000 for some songs that, realistically, you could download for free. The highest human act is to inspire. Money is a tool – it’s the means, not the end. Inspiration is the metric that dictates whether or not a project is a success. It’s more realistic than trying to aim for radio play, or trying to satisfy an A&R or the other gatekeepers on these platforms. I don’t even know how to create with those things in mind. But if you tell me the goal is to inspire? that makes my job a lot easier.”

One thing for sure is that the L.A. emcee understands his hustle in the game, aware of the journey he is taking in the industry despite the perception that sale strategies may be overriding musical engagements:

“I’m not worried, people buy into ideas. ‘Think Different’ is more iconic than any Apple product you buy, and ‘Just Do It’ is more iconic than any shoe. The reason it doesn’t bother me is that I know musically where I’m going, and I know about the quality of music that I’ll be making next.”

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