During TV One’s latest episode of Uncensored, Master P opened up about his friendship with Nipsey Hussle, sharing the late rapper’s unawareness of his fame and frustrations with his music’s success. The 51-year-old rapper said he and Hussle were always”100″ with each other, and Hussle confided in him throughout his life.
“He [Nipsey Hussle] really believed in my movement and he wanted to learn from me,” Master P said in the episode. “I didn’t mind being an open book and teaching [him].”
The “Make Em Say Uhh!” rapper said that Hussle came to him about his contract with Atlantic Records. According to Billboard, he signed the deal in 2017, which forged his label All Money In Records with Atlantic. But Master P said he didn’t think it was a good move.
“I read over Nipsey’s contact he had with Atlantic Records. And I told him it wasn’t a good contract. And he told me ‘You know, big dawg, I respect it, but this is something I gotta do because I put all these records out that didn’t go anywhere,” Master P said.
When Hussle died, Master P was astounded at how his fandom and listenership grew.
Master P also reflected on Hussle’s relationship with his fame, and struggles trying to get his music heard.
“Nipsey don’t even know how famous he is because he was always fighting against the system,” he said of Hussle’s ongoing battle with the music industry.
“When he died, everybody jumped on him, that’s the part that’s crazy to me. He blew up so big when he died, but he was always telling me about how he couldn’t understand how his music is this good but it wasn’t doing the numbers,” he added.
He continued, saying Hussle’s last project before his death “probably sold like 50,000 to 100,000 [units]. And then when he died, sold 3 million.”
Fans of Hussle know that the late rapper was passionate about giving back to Crenshaw. Master P confirmed that he wanted “to build his clothing company up and be able to put money back into the hood.” Hussle launched his clothing store, The Marathon Clothing, back in 2017.
According to The Guardian, the brand’s first store in Crenshaw closed after his passing. It’s now a site where fans can visit and pay tribute to Hussle.
While Master P admired Hussle’s commitment to bettering his community, he said he believes it contributed to his untimely death.
“You also have to be able to protect yourself,” he said. “The same hood will kill you. There’s a lot of jealousy and self-hate in the hood.”
