 Despite creating a buzz amongst the hip-hop underground, via major guest features and his popular mixtapes, Nipsey Hussle's debut album has yet to see the light of day.
South Central State of Mind has been delayed by his label, Epic Records, for nearly two years now. Not wanting to play the waiting game, the L.A. rapper has left for greener pastures.
In a brand new interview with HipHopDX, Nipsey revealed that he's left Epic and is now going all in with his indie label, All Money In Records.
"I was always independent before I signed to Epic," Nipsey explained of the move. "The way that Epic heard about me was through our movement as All Money In; what we was doing in L.A. as far as mixtapes ... as far as the touring we was doing just in our region. We just gonna go back to doing what we been doing."
The label's own internal issues are at the root of why the rapper wanted to leave, but the split was amicably.
"Half of the staff is gonna be laid off or fired," Nipsey said of Epic, which was acquired by Columbia Records, "and the original staff that brought me in the building, that shared the original vision of really what Nipsey Hussle was, they're all gone.
"I'ma walk away with all my masters; I'ma walk away un-obligated, with my brand built, and it's all love and respect for everybody at Epic. We took a chance together. It was a lot of money spent, a lot of success together, and it's no hard feelings."
Nipsey most recently released a new mixtape, titled The Marathon. A bar on the track "Mr. Untouchable" has raised some eyebrows: "High 'til we die/ So it's muthaf*** a Detox."
(Download The Marathon mixtape right here  )
Was that a shot at Dr. Dre? According to Nipsey, if you're not with him, you're against him, no matter who you are. But says it's not personal.
"I mean, it ain't a shot, 'cause it doesn't [say] 'f*** [Dr.] Dre.'" Nipsey explained. "It ain't nothin' personal to Dre, it ain't nothin' personal against Detox ... N****s take it how they take it ... I ain't never really reached out to Dre, or Dre ain't never really reached out to me, so it ain't a shot against him, it's just, my focus is on what I'm doing now. I'm basically in a mindset of like, either you with me or you against me type sh**. So, the n****s that's with me, they on the right side, anybody else [is] in the line of fire. And when I shoot I'ma knock heads off."
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