How Did Nipsey Hussle Make His Money?

As news circulates that rapper Nipsey Hussle was shot and killed on Mar. 31, fans are looking back at the rapper’s career and legacy that he left behind.

The 33-year-old Grammy-nominated artist was shot outside of his store The Marathon Clothing. Two others were wounded in the shooting.

Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles, took to Twitter to express his condolences.

“Our hearts are with the loved ones of Nipsey Hussle and everyone touched by this awful tragedy,” he wrote. “L.A. is hurt deeply each time a young life is lost to senseless gun violence. My Crisis Response Team is assisting the families coping with shock and grief.”

Nipsey leaves behind a legacy of rap genius, philanthropic efforts, and more. Let’s take a look back at how he made his money and what he did with it.

What was Nipsey’s net worth when he died?

Nipsey was worth $8 million at the time of his death.

How did Nipsey make his money?

Anyone who listened to Nipsey’s work knew that the artist had a talent for words. Who else could sell mixtapes for $100 a piece?

“The marketing for the mixtape was that we only made a thousand units and sold them for a hundred dollars apiece,” Nipsey recently told GQ of the pricey tag on his 2013 mixtape. “It was a scarcity model. Jay-Z bought a few copies, et cetera.”

He then took the price tag up, selling Mailbox Money for $1,000 a pop.

But the rapper never wanted to rely on music for his money.

“Doing music to pay bills is an uncomfortable situation,” he recently told Complex. “I never wanted to be in that situation. When I was coming out the street, that’s why we was hustling; so we didn’t have to put so much pressure on the music, like ‘if I don’t get this right, I can’t eat, or I can’t pay the bills.'”

He stressed the importance of having multiple income streams like other big name artists.

“For that same reason, you got Ace of Spades,” he continued. “You got Ciroc. You got Dre Beats. You got Vitamin Water. All these different ventures to just make sure that you’re never going to the space of completely relying on music or your core business.”

In addition to rapping, Nipsey also had a number of other gigs. In 2007, he made his way into the acting world by landing a role in I Tried, a film about Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. From there, he starred in Caged Animaland Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

Nipsey’s philanthropic efforts

Nipsey was born and raised in Los Angeles. He lived in a Crip neighborhood but was still able to make it out of poverty. When the rapper began to make money, he decided to reinvest it in the area that raised him.

He recently bought a section of West Slauson Avenue which is just off of Crenshaw Boulevard. Before he bought the area, he rented Marathon Clothing on the corner of the strip mall.

“Before we was renting here, I was hustling in this parking lot,” he told Forbes. “It’s just always been a hub for local entrepreneurs.”

The purchase of the strip was a way for the rapper to reinvest in the area and do good in a location that he had grown up breaking the law in.

Read more:WWhat Was Nipsey Hussle’s Net Worth at the Time of His Death?

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