Roddy Ricch returned this week with his sophomore studio LP Live Life Fast. Prior to dropping his new album, Ricch picked up a Platinum plaque and a Grammy Award as a feature on Nipsey Hussle’s 2019 single “Racks in the Middle.”
Many people view Nipsey Hussle as one of Roddy Ricch’s music industry mentors. The late Crenshaw, California native played a pivotal role in the rise of Ricch as an award-winning, chart-topping artist.
Roddy Ricch recently joined Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe for New Music Daily Radio to talk about the Live Life Fast project. The 23-year-old rhymer also discussed Nipsey Hussle’s legacy and the late rapper’s impact on the Los Angeles community.
“When you say he was impactful after, right? I feel like to the world, that was the case. But if you’re from LA or you’re from Compton, or you from Long Beach, this n#### was like… I know he probably wasn’t necessarily globally a ‘star’ star yet, but I just felt like being from here, we know,” Roddy Ricch told Zane Lowe.
Ricch added, “I remember Durk was like, ‘I’m Chicago Jay-Z.’ Nip was like LA Jay-Z. It wasn’t just a conversation thing. It was like an actual thing. Like he owned his masters. He’s buying up the block. Like you could catch him at your local gas station, like on the real, hopping out, Maybach, taking pictures with people’s mamas, people’s aunties, little n#####.”
Back in February, Lil Durk took to social media to declare himself as Chicago’s Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter. Many rappers – such as Lil Wayne, T.I., and Lil Baby – have been presented as a new version of the billionaire Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder as well.
Jay-Z was a big supporter of Nipsey Hussle for years. The Brooklyn-raised emcee famously bought 100 copies of Hussle’s $100-priced Crenshaw mixtape in 2013. More recently, the Jay-Z and Nipsey Hussle collaboration “What It Feels Like” appeared on Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album.
Roddy Ricch continued his comments about Nipsey Hussle. Ricch said, “Like when you get all the hoods to just slide up on your store and you got the different religious groups pulling up. Like that ain’t normal for nobody. That’s like bigger than life and that’s the thing. I just feel like people ain’t really feel it until it was gone.”
Live Life Fast arrived today (December 17). The 18-track album features Future, Kodak Black, 21 Savage, Takeoff, Jamie Foxx, Ty Dolla $ign, Alex Isley, Fivio Foreign, Lil Baby, and Gunna. Previously, Roddy Ricch dropped 2019’s Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial which hosts the Diamond-certified “The Box.”