And in terms of said reference he gives a shoutout to the late Malcolm X (1925-1965), with Nip implying that he too is a leader of such caliber. And this is a fare that sees the rapper bragging about his street credibility and come-up interlaced, in this case, with at least one reference to Black liberation.įor again, throughout his career he normally espoused the idea of freedom for his people, even if he was by and large an L.A. However, as noted in the trivia section of this post, Nipsey’s contribution to “What It Feels Like”, unlike Jay-Z’s, was not directly inspired by the aforementioned film. So in terms of his contribution, what we have is the usual Nipsey Hussle fare. Nipsey, even after his death in 2019, has become known as sort of a lyrical Black Panther himself. Countless references to the Black struggle for freedom can be commonly found within his lyrics. And whereas Jigga’s hits tend to be a bit more lighthearted so to speak, when the opportunity presents itself he can also get quite political. The Black Panther Party is an African-American political organization with a revolutionary/self-defense slant, who were most active during the late-1960s. They are often perceived as heroes of the Black American community – the types who did not let the White powers-that-be intimidate them.Īnd it is such a spirit which Jay-Z in particular and the late Nipsey Hussle by default are bringing to “What It Feels Like”.