When Nipsey Hussle decided to sell 1,000 copies of the Crenshaw mixtape for $100, some were wondering if the west coast rapper was lackluster. The thing is it was the complete opposite; sheer genius. Yes, you could download the mixtape for free, but if you really respected his music and appreciated the art, $100 was nothing. Nipsey made about $100,000. With his latest mixtape Mailbox Money in rotation, the concept remains the same, however the price has gone up. There has only been 100 physical copies made at the price of $1,000. Guess what? Since it’s December release 60 copies have been sold, making Nipsey’s profit $60,000. The rapper talks to The Guardian about his decision to sell a project – that can be downloaded for free – at such a high price.

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“As much as I believe in it. Every time I get a transaction, I get a text on my phone, and I’ve been hitting them back,” said Nipsey. “The feedback and the connection I have with these people help me understand the psychology of the person paying $1,000 for some songs that, realistically, you could download for free.”

Nip claims that the “psychology” of it all is that, “The highest human act is to inspire. Money is a tool – it’s the means, not the end. [Inspiration is] the metric that dictates whether or not a project is a success.” With that being said, money isn’t the bottom line nor a few other things like, “Radio play, or trying to satisfy an A&R, or the other gatekeepers on these platforms. I don’t even know how to create with those things in mind. But if you tell me the goal is to inspire? That makes my job a lot easier.”

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Nipsey Hussle is currently on the Mailbox Money Tour. For dates and other information check out i Hussle.