165 Nipsey Hussle Quotes that Define Timeless Wisdom

Airmiess Joseph Asghedom, more well known as Nipsey Hussle; was an American rapper, and an entrepreneur for his own clothing line known as ‘Victory Lap’. Hussle was murdered in 2019, which shocked other celebrities who highly regarded him in the music industry. Nipsey Hussle left behind a legacy that extends far beyond his music. His words, often infused with wisdom and resilience, continue to resonate with fans and inspire individuals from all walks of life. In this article, we delve into some of most impactful Nipsey Hussle quotes, exploring how his insights on success, perseverance, and self-belief offer valuable lessons for navigating life’s challenges and pursuing personal growth. Join us as we reflect on the powerful messages that define Nipsey Hussle’s enduring influence.

Nipsey Hussle Quotes

1. “Sometimes you have to take two steps back to take ten forward.” ~ Nipsey Hussle

2. “Control your time—use every minute wisely.” ~ Nipsey Hussle

3. “Life is just a fight against your disbeliefs.” ~ Nipsey Hussle

4. “I took my wildest dreams then mapped them out.” ~ Nipsey Hussle

5. “The reason it’s like that is because I never faked none. I never screamed ‘thug life’, cause I didn’t grow up in a ruthless environment. I grew up in a real environment.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
6. “Get that dirt up off your shoulder, step yo game up.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
7. “Grind hard, stack your money, and stay out of the way.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
8. “You’ve got to have faith in what you’re doing and not take no for an answer.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
9. “Most important thing is to get rid of doubt. If you have doubt in what you’re doing, it’s not gonna work.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
10. “If what I believe is proved to be wrong, then I guess I’m a miracle.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
11. “If you don’t know your full-throttle history—the whole story of how you came to where you are—it’s kind of hard to put things together.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
12. “People, if you break down the music, you could find the truth.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
13. “I’m about seeing long-term, seeing a vision, understanding nothing really worthwhile happens overnight, and just sticking to your script long enough to make something real happen.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
14. “I realized the power of hip-hop. I realized how influential this music and this culture are.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
15. “Spoke some things into the universe and they appeared, I say it’s worth it, I won’t say it’s fair. Find your purpose or you wastin’ air.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
16. “Every step is like chess—the wrong move gets you killed.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
17. “I don’t ever make moves under pressure.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
18. “The reason children accept discipline from their parents is because they know their parents love them.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
19. “I think you can make a pure artistic product if you understand how to build your own industry.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
20. “Even as you make progress, you need the discipline to keep from backtracking and sabotaging the success as it’s happening.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
21. “And what good is dreaming, if you can’t make your dream come true?” ~ Nipsey Hussle
22. “I’m not into trading ownership of the only asset I have, which is my intellectual property.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
23. “We are playing the long game. We don’t want the money to stop when we go, when we can’t work no more. We want it to outlive us, we want it to be generational.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
24. “As an artist, as a brand, as a rapper, as a musician, you know you have a window and a lot of people, even an athlete; they don’t have no exit strategy. It’s just living in the false reality that it’s going to be like this forever.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
25. “And we were raised wrong but we stayed strong and we kept it real, we got faked on.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
26. “‘Cause if you share your success and not your struggle, you’re a fool.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
27. “Every artist wants something different out of the game.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
28. “I was never ignorant as far as being experienced in classrooms, and learning about different subjects, and actually soaking it up.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
29. “Dedication, hard work, plus patience.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
30. “We represent a hustler. I think we represent inspiration. I think we represent, you know, staying down. I think we represent building yourself up from the bootstraps.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
31. “I never wanted to alienate my brand for business. I always wanted to keep it authentic and keep it as pure as I could.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
32. “Play the game like I’ve never won once.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
33. “We’re not the cause. We’re the effect.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
34. “A solution built for humanity, leaving nobody out.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
35. “My experience with power, you can maintain it, or you get it taken from you. You get you some newfound power and go crazy, and it gets taken from you quick.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
36. “Be truthful with yourself and other people, and try your best to make decisions outside of your ego.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
37. “I’m not in it for fame. I’ve been famous in the streets already.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
38. “As an entrepreneur, as an investor, I’m trying to be as educated as I can to where the progression of technological capability is going and what it does to these different categories that, me as an artist and an influencer, I can get involved and bring value.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
39. “The game will test you never fold. Stay ten toes down. It’s not on you, it’s in you. And what’s in you, they can never take away.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
40. “Life is what you make it, I hope you make a movement.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
41. “I believe that economics is based on scarcity of markets.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
42. “Hoping what I’m doing truly makes my mama proud, ‘cause for a very long time, I was the reason for her frowns.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
43. “My thing is that I don’t give no person that much power over my path that I’m walking. Not one person can make or break what I’m doing, except me or God.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
44. “And it can be as simple as it seems, if you never doubt yourself and learn from everything you see, no wishing on a star can turn your life into a dream.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
45. “Sometimes, people, they too, destroy you—precisely because they recognize your power not because they don’t see it , but because they see it, and they don’t want it to exist.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
46. “When you let go of your pride, you’ll find a lesson in your pain.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
47. “The artist part of me always wants to be appreciated. I read every review. But I never wanted to seek validation by awards or anything controlled by politics.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
48. “I think everybody’s trying to get to a place in themselves where they conquer what they was afraid of; they achieve some of their life goals, kept their word about what they were trying to do.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
49. “Ownership is everything. Own your mind, mind your own.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
50. “Create a plan and then attack it. A dream without a plan is a wish.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
51. “Be your own biggest fan, your own biggest believer, and put it on your back and carry the weight.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
52. “I identify myself as a hustler since I was a young kid.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
53. “Come to my hood I’ll show you desperation.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
54. “I hate to lose, so I play too rough.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
55. “Being self-made means never making an excuse as to why you can’t take steps toward whatever your goal is.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
56. “Having strong enemies is a blessing.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
57. “I respect Snoop even aside from the music—just as a man, and especially the way he still represents who he is, after being a pop star and an icon. He’s done it successfully and has still been able to balance it…” ~ Nipsey Hussle
58. “And it’s possible to monetize your art without compromising the integrity of it for commerce.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
59. “On a mission, your worst enemy is idle time.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
60. “If I wasn’t involved in this hip-hop, I’d probably be breakin’ the law to eat and feed my family and maintain the lifestyle that I’m used to.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
61. “Study your queen so you can give her what she wants without asking.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
62. “Success or greatness come with a roller-coaster ride—anybody can apply the marathon concept to what they do.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
63. “I always had faith in my creative capacity.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
64. “Premature certainty is the enemy of the truth.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
65. “When it’s all over, all that counts is how the story’s told.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
66. “Hope opportunities don’t knock when there are opportunists in your group.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
67. “Before rap, my last name was my lifestyle, and when I visualize success, it looked like right now.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
68. “Material things ain’t nothing, you feel me? At the end of the day, it’s who you are. You wasn’t born with it; you gon’ die without it.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
69. “I just believe in ownership. I believe in investing in yourself. Your foundation should be strong.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
70. “To me, respect comes first.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
71. “When you say ‘follow me on Twitter,’ and you get 10 million people to follow you – you just leveraged your influence to add value to an app that you have no ownership in.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
72. “I try to sprinkle little gems and jewels in the music that people could use in their own life.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
73. “Obviously, from childhood to my teenage years, I really came into my own. I left the house early; I was on the streets when I was, like, 15. I’ve been holdin’ my own since that age.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
74. “Success, to me, is just being able to do what you love to do and support yourself all through.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
75. “We act on how we think, and never speak on how we feel.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
76. “I’m tryna live my life, so when it’s over, I have no regrets.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
77. “I am an anomaly in my space. The way I exist is unique.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
78. “I graduated from having haters now I see it all as fake love.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
79. “If you’re going to write about rap music and hip-hop, and you don’t love it, then we don’t need your opinion, and we revoke your opinion.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
80. “Luck is just being prepared at all times, so when the door opens, you’re ready.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
81. “At the core, one of my original goals is to redefine what the streets expect.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
82. “I hope my story inspires everyone out there to keep hustling and chasing their dreams.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
83. “It’s as big as you wanna make it and, you know, it’s as far as you take it.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
84. “The company you keep has a large influence on the situations you bring to yourself.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
85. “Ain’t nobody gave us nothing. I just got my own!” ~ Nipsey Hussle
86. “I built a label at the same time I built a career.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
87. “Turning up my hustle’s how I give myself a raise.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
88. “Don’t expect from others—put in your own work.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
89. “I went hard for the chips ’cause the odds were against us.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
90. “My God will never make me and break me. I have faith.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
91. “Started out the trunk, ended up at the dealership.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
92. “Don’t waste your time, it doesn’t make you rich.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
93. “I’m at peace with what I’m doing. I feel good about what I wake up doing and about my lifestyle.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
94. “We got turned down, we failed, had setbacks, had to start over a lot of times. But we kept going at it. In anybody’s case, that’s always the distinguishing factor.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
95. “I call it ‘dropping the rope.’ You’ve got to drop a rope. Everybody got to climb up, but you gotta drop the rope.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
96. “One small misunderstanding can show you exactly how a person really feels about you.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
97. “Seize the opportunity, believe, and take control of it. Then get on your marathon and grind it ’til it’s over with.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
98. “What good is a team, when everyone depends on you?” ~ Nipsey Hussle
99. “Put my right hand to God, shine on these broads. Stay on my job, grind with my squad.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
100. “‘Victory Lap,’ even the title. It’s the accumulation of trial and error; that’s what I represent; trial and error.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
101. “I hit the league straight out the streets with no talent scout.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
102. “Once you found the real it’s hard to tolerate the plastic.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
103. “I think that every artist – or anybody that’s in business – could benefit from a direct-to-consumer strategy, so I think that that applies to us as artists and content creators, too.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
104. “I knew I wanted to work for myself when I was about eleven.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
105. “I always had a passion for rap music and I was always trying to create a situation where I could do this full-time.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
106. “When I became a man, and I started to understand the difference between the truth and what your parents are supposed to tell you, there’s a difference, know what I mean?” ~ Nipsey Hussle
107. “I feel that luck is a product of hard work.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
108. “Get everything you want, then go back and get some more.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
109. “Your parents are supposed to tell you to make decisions that are gonna help you and that’ll have a positive effect on your life and your well-being.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
110. “As gang members, as young dudes in the streets, especially in L.A., we’re the effect of a situation. We didn’t wake up and create our own mind-state and our environment; we adapted our survival instincts.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
111. “Hoping as you walk across the sand you see my shoeprint.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
112. “I’m focusing on the music, but I still have a cold library of books that I’ve either read or I plan on getting to.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
113. “If you’ve got a plan, it’s not just like a pipe dream. You have a step-by-step list of things to do to get to your goal.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
114. “A lot of artists come into the game with a radio record, but they don’t establish the fans as fans of their style of music. It’s just that they’re a fan of that song, and after that song plays out, it’s real hard for ’em.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
115. “Most of the time, I look inside, and find the answers waitin’.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
116. “I went through every emotion with what I’m doing, you know what I mean? And I think what’s gon’ separate whoever’s gonna go for something, that you ain’t gonna quit.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
117. “I seen a lot of artists be hot for a minute, and then that’s it, and somebody else come in.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
118. “I grew up in an environment where being polite was taken as a weakness. So, I just fought everybody.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
119. “It’s strictly business in this game, still they faking friendly. Don’t let them take advantage of you.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
120. “Doing music to pay bills is an uncomfortable situation. I never wanted to be in that situation.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
121. “We don’t want to wait on someone to hire us and give us a check. We want to create our own opportunities.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
122. “If you do it, be the best at it.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
123. “I get a more passionate delivery when I just go in the booth and let the music talk.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
124. “It sounds simple telling people to work hard and never quit, but to really execute and demonstrate those principles takes discipline and faith. Those are the two factors that I believe separate the good from the great, the successes from the failures.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
125. “An artist always knows everything he does. You know what I’m saying—all the records he starts and don’t end up in the public and just sit on the harddrive.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
126. “I’m more focused on giving solutions and inspiration more than anything.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
127. “Get on your marathon ’til you bruise your feet.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
128. “If you don’t have a plan, it’s very hard to really have faith in what you’re doing ’cause soon as something pops up, it’s gonna look like the end-all.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
129. “‘Victory’ is like, you won, so the question is, what? What did you win? I think that the songs go into that. It’s just about reaching a place in myself.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
130. “None of my peers avoided prison. None of ’em.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
131. “If you have strong faith, your God will love you.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
132. “Any time a country transitioned to a flat currency, they collapsed. That’s just world history. You don’t have to know about cryptocurrency to know that.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
133. “Finish what we started, reach them heights, you know?” ~ Nipsey Hussle
134. “You gotta go hard, you gotta believe in yourself.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
135. “A solution built by an artist serves the artist more than the solution the capitalist comes up with.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
136. “I say that in the most humble way: I always knew that I could perform with the best of ’em and I could deliver with the best of ’em.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
137. “I’m the type of person where my safe place to be emotional is the booth.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
138. “Don’t worry ’bout what people gon’ say. Girl, do what you want to.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
139. “No one in life can enjoy peace until they know the meaning of it.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
140. “Without a game plan and without a strong sense of faith in what you’re doing, it’s gonna be real hard to accomplish anything.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
141. “Constant repetition is the path to progression.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
142. “One pillar to wealth is having residual income.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
143. “I don’t know about hell, I don’t know about heaven. All I know is ’bout right now and this lifestyle is interesting.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
144. “When you talk about black entrepreneurship, you’re talking about addressing the foundation of what’s going on with our people when we don’t have any financial power. Our basic needs aren’t being met in a lot of cases, so there’s no way we’re going to be able to tap into our potential until we address those bottom-level base needs.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
145. “My career as Nipsey Hussle is based on my life as Ermias Asghedom.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
146. “I always wanted to operate at the highest altitude, just in terms of hip-hop and the music.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
147. “I intend to inspire people with my story—motivate young people that grew up like myself, or even not like myself. Just, you know, go through the human experience.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
148. “Thought is powerful in all phases. Even in my career, even in my life, things end up exactly how I visualized them.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
149. “Proud 2 Pay – that’s something that distinguishes me, that’s something that defines me, and we’re going to keep that going.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
150. “I look at it like the game is gonna test you. Everything’s gonna test you if it’s worthwhile and you’re gonna make decisions based on what you care about more.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
151. “The best thing you can do for a person is to inspire them. That’s the best currency you can offer—inspiration.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
152. “Been stabbed in my heart so much, I learned to smile while I bleed.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
153. “It’s not called quitting if you quit while you ahead. It’s about being aware and being strategic enough to know that you got to get out of the pool at some point. You got to put your clothes back on and dry off.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
154. “I was raised differently because even if you wish me the worst, I will still wish you the best.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
155. “If it wasn’t for the music being my outlet, I’d probably be hustlin’. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to go and get a nine-to-five—I never finished high school or none of that.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
156. “You will never be criticized by someone who is doing more than you. You will only be criticized by someone who is doing less than you. Remember that.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
157. “Instead of trying to build a brick wall, lay a brick everyday. Eventually, you’ll look up and you’ll have a brick wall.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
158. “If you’re a hustler, you should find somewhere to capitalize off that and turn it into some money.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
159. “First get ‘yo grind on, then get yo’ shine on.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
160. “Most of the time, when it rains it starts pouring, but how we grind it makes the weather change for us.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
161. “I believe that we should own the fruits of our labor and the assets of our creations.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
162. “You’re not going to scare me into being somebody I don’t want to be.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
163. “Looking at 2014, I look back: we made more money off ‘Mailbox Money’ than we would have made off taking an advance from anybody. We made more money letting our fans buy the stuff directly from us than what any label could have offered us.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
164. “I will never say something I don’t agree with or believe in… even if the reward is massive!” ~ Nipsey Hussle
165. “As is the case with most people in this game, I am driven by financial motives and creative motives; the question I had to answer is which motive I will give priority to?” ~ Nipsey Hussle