“Letter to Nipsey” by Meek Mill (ft. Roddy Rich)
“Letter to Nipsey” is a tribute to Nipsey Hussle, whose murder was the story of 2019 as far as the hip-hop community in the United States is concerned. And as the title implies, Meek and Roddy are addressing the late rapper directly.
Meek points out that he wasn’t really close to Nipsey. But still his death had a monumental impact on him. This is not only in terms of the emotional repercussions, such as compelling Mill to also namedrop Lil “Snupe”, one of his own artists who was gunned down at the age of 18. But it also has a practical effect, such as encouraging Meek to always arm himself before going out in public.
Meanwhile Roddy, as we know, was personally associated with Hussle. And he admits that he ‘bawled his eyes out’ when he saw Nipsey’s dead body. He also had to withdraw and “meditate” for a while.
So whereas Meek comes off as if he lost someone he respected, Roddy is more like he actually loved Hussle. And he concludes his verse by giving a shoutout to individuals who were very-close to the slain rapper, i.e. people who would have also taken his passing to heart. And as for the chorus, the general idea being presented is that due to the above-mentioned sentiments, the rappers had to drop a song memorializing their their late “brother”.
Facts about “Letter to Nipsey”
Meek Mill and Roddy Rich actually debuted this song during the tribute to Nipsey Hussle (1985-2019) which was held at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards on 27 January 2020.
During that selfsame ceremony the song “Racks in the Middle”, a collaboration between Nipsey Hussle, Roddy Rich and Hit-Boy, took home the Grammy Award for Best Rap Song. This was actually the last single Nipsey Hussle released during his lifetime.
The writers of “Letter to Nipsey” are Meek and Rich. The two artists have a collaboration history dating back to Meek Mill’s 2018 track “Splash Warning”.
The producer of “Letter to Nipsey” is an artist known as Papamitrou.
This song was released as a standalone single by the Maybach Music Group on 27 January 2020.
