BY PARFIT • APRIL 27, 2019

JAY-Z and Nipsey Hussle had a special bond. In many ways, the two men mirrored one another, albeit from different generations and different coasts. Both were entrepreneurs imbued with a hustler’s spirit, who used the lessons they learned from the streets, both good and bad, as tools of motivation for themselves and others.

Perhaps it was that recognition of himself in Nip that caused Hov to purchase 100 copies of Nipsey’s Crenshaw mixtape, at the audacious price of $100 apiece. As Hussle said in his Mailbox Money song “Count Up That Loot,” “This beat ain’t even mixed, but it’s f*ckin’ perfect / They paid a hundred for my tape and it was f*ckin’ worth it / Shout out to Wendy Williams ’cause she helped it surface / Shout out my ni**a Jigga ’cause he made that purchase.” Whatever the case may be, the kinship each man had for the other eventually grew to a formal business relationship, with Nipsey joining Jay as a member of the roster of artists being managed by Roc Nation.

The close bond they shared had many looking to JAY-Z for words on Nipsey Hussle after his tragic death, but Jay remained relatively quiet. Rumors spread across social media that the man born Shawn Carter had set up a $15 million trust fund for the benefit of Hussle’s family. Those rumors were denied by Roc Nation, but many believe them to be true, with Carter preferring to keep the matter private. At Nipsey’s memorial service, held at the Los Angeles Staples Center, a letter from Jay also was included in the programs handed out at the event. Jay’s message read as follows: