When Nipsey Hussle announced back in 2013 that he was going to be charging $100 a piece for his new mixtape at the time (Crenshaw) kicking off his #Proud2Pay campaign, fans went through various reactions. Some were mind boggled, others outraged that an artist had the audacity to charge such a high price for a mixtape, and some just found the thought of the entire plan comical. Well, it turned out to be one of the smartest business moves Nip had made up to that point in his career.
Nipsey sold all 1000 of the physical copies of his mixtape for his controversial price of $100 a piece. Not only that, but he did so in under 24 hours, despite the fact that the tape was put online for free download on the following day. This proved that Nip’s business mind was a lot more calculated than people originally thought and it also showed the limitless support of his die hard fanbase. One of those fans being none other than Mr. Carter himself, Jay-Z, who purchased 100 copies of the mixtape, letting his support for Nip and his brand be known.
Fast forward to the following year, 2014. Nip released his next project “Mailbox Money” with a similar rollout and continuing his #Proud2Pay campaign, except this time he upped the ante even more. “Mailbox Money” was priced at a previously unthinkable price of $1000 per physical copy and limited to 100 copies for sale. Now, the “Crenshaw” release had people in a frenzy but this was taking it to a whole different level. Nobody thought that Nip could pull off such a plan with a mixtape being priced so high, but once again, his marketing plan in addition to the dedication of his fans helped him move over half of the 100 copies, according to Nip himself he sold 60 physical copies at $1000 a piece.
Both “Crenshaw” and “Mailbox Money” were always designed to be appetizers for the main course that Nip has had planned for a while now. That main course is his forthcoming highly anticipated album “Victory Lap”. Due to the success of his past two roll outs for #Proud2Pay, Nip has decided to keep the campaign going with the upcoming release of his “Victory Lap” album, though he hasn’t given an exact date of release, or price point for the project. This time he is giving back to the fans that showed him so much love and support for the first two projects of the campaign. He posted a statement on his website stating the following:
“I’m going to bring the 1st 5 supporters of the Crenshaw PROUD2PAY campaign and the 1st 5 supporters of the Mailbox Money PROUD2PAY campaign on a guided tour through the places and situations that VICTORY LAP was inspired by to serve as an attempt to recreate musically.
I will personally play the album and narrate and elaborate on key songs and lines. We will physically visit the locations being referenced on the album to put our feet on the ground, breath the air, taste the food, and feel climate. While we listen to the music, we will create what we coined as an:
“Intimate Multi-Sensory Music Experience”
This is going to be a once in a lifetime experience for the fans that showed their belief in him and dedication to his brand. The fans that took part in the #Proud2Pay campaign were not promised this at the time of purchase, this is just Nipsey showing his appreciation and gratitude to the fans that supported him when many thought he was setting goals he had no chance at achieving. Nipsey is one of the torch carriers for the West Coast and if the fans are to base the quality of “Victory Lap” off of his recent material then they are surely in for a treat. It’s been a long marathon and the time for celebration appears to be closer than we think.
