Nipsey Hussle is just a couple days away from the release of his highly anticipated major label debut on Atlantic, with Victory Lap set to drop on Friday (Feb. 16).
To help ease the anticipation, he released one of the most exciting collaborations he’s cooked up to date, today (Feb. 13) sharing his new joint track alongside one of Black Panther‘s many talented masterminds, Kendrick Lamar.
The new track, “Dedication,” transports listeners to the West Coast with ease, as both MCs detail growing up in the hood and overcoming a variety of struggles they both have faced. Lamar gets particularly personal, rapping about run-ins with the law, his grandmother’s death and his father’s battle with drugs, with Nipsey echoing a similar sentiment about preserving against all odds.
“For generations, we’ve been dealt bad hands with bad plans,” Lamar spits during his guest verse. “Proving your dedication by hoppin’ out Grand Ams / I’m at the premiere, politickin’ with Top, Nip, and Snoop / Damn, ‘Pac watchin’ the way we cool from dedication.”
Recently, Nipsey explained what it was like working with his fellow Los Angeles heavyweight during an appearance on Beats 1 Radio.
“When I heard the verse, I was really inspired,” he said, speaking about how the track came together. “I felt like he killed it. He actually talked about something that happened the night of the ‘Pac premiere. If you listen to his verse, he’s talking about me, Snoop Dogg, Top Dawg, and himself, we had a conversation about L.A. street s—t and about how the time might be right right now for us to really try to use our influence to try to evolve how we exist, Bloods and Crips, and the tribalism that’s going on out there.”
“Dedication” joins the likes of previously released tracks, “Grinding All My Life” and “Last Time That I Checc’d.” Keep an eye out for the full project this Friday and take a listen to Nipsey Hussle’s latest, below.