The reason that Nipsey Hussle is smart, and the reason that will hopefully keep him from being another marginalized Los Angeles rap hopeful, is that he stays wildly local and still willing to traverse regional rap boundaries. While he's being as traditionally West Coast as possible (you've heard it before: the braids, the voice, the reminder that Kris Kross' "Jump" was a pretty sincere attempt at g-funk when it was released), Nipsey will also release a song and video like the washed out, perma-grey "Been Around" featuring a gravel-voiced, Queens-based rapper named Southside Po that nods to Mobb Deep more than, say, Quik. Is it even worth trying to describe dudes based on the region they're from anymore? The internet changes everything.
