S. Samuel
After shocking the hip-hop world by attaching a hefty price tag to his new Crenshaw album, West Coast rapper Nipsey Hussle has revealed how Jay Z dug into his pockets to make a $10,000 purchase.
According to Nipsey, Jigga had his Roc Nation entertainment company cop 100 copies.
“I got a DM on Twitter from a respected hip-hop journalist and he was just like, ‘Hov respects the move, salute,’ ” Nipsey told MTV News on Wednesday (October 9). “A little while later, I got an email that came through my team that was like, ‘Roc Nation, on behalf of Jay Z wants to buy 100 units. Who do we pay? When can we get the shipment out?’ ” Just like that, Nipsey moved 100 of the 1,000 physical CDs he pressed up in one shot. “They sent us $10,000, we sent them 100 CDs,” Nip confirmed. “I didn’t get a chance to holla at Jay, but through his people he made it clear that he respects the movement and everything. I was humbled by it. I felt like it was a good risk, and it ended up working out.” (MTV)
Not stopping with Young Hov, Hussle said fellow rap greats like California legend E-40 have rode behind the movement.
The statement clearly resonated with Jay and a legion of fans, because Nip has since sold all his available copies. Now, fellow artists are showering him with praise. “Since I announced… I’ve been getting phone calls and tweets from people showing support and love,” he told us. “I talked to E-40 this morning, we laughed about it. He was like, ‘What you tryna do, you tryna shut the game down?'” (MTV)
The rap newcomer also issued a statement defending the dicey business move a few days ago.
“It ISN’T the price of the plastic case and polyurethane disc…it’s the price of Revolution! The price of Rebellion against an industry that has tricked us all into making products that have no soul for fear of not being heard if we don’t.” (Rap Radar)
Known for having money to blow, Jay recently landed onto Forbes’ Cash Kings 2013 list.
Hip-hop’s net worth king claims his first annual earnings crown thanks mostly to the success of Ciroc vodka. Other ingredients in his cash cocktail: record label Bad Boy, clothing line Sean John and, soon, cable channel Revolt. Lost his hyphen but gained double-digit millions from lucrative live shows, Armand de Brignac champagne, D’Ussé cognac, Roc Nation label/management firm and other ventures. Last year’s Cash King slips two spots, no longer boosted by a nine-figure payout for selling part of Beats by Dr. Dre in 2011. But he’s still cashing in on the ubiquitous headphones, expanding the company he founded with Interscope chief Jimmy Iovine to include a long-awaited streaming music service. (Forbes)
