Nipsey Hussle once walked away from a major label deal with Rick Ross’s Maybach Music Group, not because the money was not right, but because he refused to let anyone outside of his own team take credit for his rise.
That is the account shared by his brother and longtime business partner Blacc Sam, who revealed the full story behind one of the most consequential decisions in Nipsey’s career.
According to Blacc Sam, Ross was actively pursuing several West Coast artists during the height of the MMG era, including Wiz Khalifa and Dom Kennedy.
Nipsey was also in his sights, and the two had a genuine relationship built on mutual respect. Ross placed Nipsey on features and kept his name in circulation at a time when the stakes were high. “We into it with the homies. We front line at the shop,” Blacc Sam recalled, describing the pressure the team was under. “I’m getting arrested. It’s serious.”
Ross eventually brought a formal offer to the table, and by Blacc Sam’s account, it was significant. “Ross at one point was like, ‘Look, bro, whatever you want, I can get it done now,'” he said.
The deal would have changed the financial picture for the entire team. Blacc Sam admitted he was pushing Nipsey to take it. “Bro, we need to get this,” he said he told him at the time.
Nipsey said no. His reasoning was direct. “Nah, man. I appreciate the opportunity. I know what it could do, but when we finally do this, it got to be all money in,” Nipsey told him.
He was clear about who needed to receive the credit. I can’t take that away from y’all as CEOs and as label founders and it got to be all money in,” Blacc Sam recalled him saying.
Blacc Sam admitted he did not fully understand the decision at the time. The team needed the resources, and the MMG opportunity was real. But Nipsey held firm, and eventually All Money In secured a direct deal with Atlantic, achieving on their own terms what Ross had offered to hand them.
Ross, for his part, accepted the explanation gracefully. “Nah, bro. I understand it,” Blacc Sam said Ross told Nipsey after he explained his reasoning.
Looking back, Blacc Sam framed the decision as entirely consistent with who Nipsey was. “Hustle just moved from his heart and what he felt,” he said, “and it was a situation where a lot was on the line.”
The conversation also touched on the Proud to Pay campaign, the strategy behind selling the Crenshaw mixtape for one hundred dollars a copy.
Blacc Sam recalled being skeptical when Nipsey first proposed the price point, suggesting they at least bundle in merchandise to justify the cost. Nipsey shut that down. We ain’t giving them nothing,” he said.
It’s the CD is 100.” The campaign sold out within twenty-four hours, and Blacc Sam described watching the notifications come through on his brother’s phone, one sale after another, as the moment the idea proved itself.
On the business side, Blacc Sam confirmed that Marathon Tacos is coming to Melrose, situated between the existing Marathon clothing store and Marathon Burger, with a grand opening expected before the end of the year.
