Rapsody is taking a page out of the late Nipsey Hussle‘s book and releasing vinyl records of her next album via his Proud 2 Pay business model.
The North Carolina native announced her distribution plans for Please Don’t Cry in an Instagram post on Wednesday (March 27) and also took the opportunity to pay homage to the precedent Nip set when he sold his Crenshaw project for $100 a pop a little over a decade back.
“Nipsey created legacy in so many ways,” she wrotet. “When I sat to think about this season of art and the valuation of it in the music business, his 2013 #Proud2Pay campaign came to mind. It affirmed that our art is genius, rare, and valuable to our super fans that see and feel it in a deeper way. ‘Always by choice, never by force’, in the words of Hussle.
“Some look at a Basquiat and see rudimentary drawings, others see a multimillion dollar piece of genius on canvas. It’s in the eyes and ears of the beholder that makes them #Proud2Pay. And I think it’s so exciting to see this model adapted by new platforms in this era. But, for me it was important to take it back to the genius that inspired me, Nipsey. Black Sam shared that this is a platform & business model he wanted every creative to have access to.
“So, I’m grateful through #Proud2Pay that we get to see that through, continue to pour into this legacy, and create meaningful engagement with our fans (whom I like to call the Loved Ones) and celebrate the value of art & creativity.
She concluded: “Deep love & continued light to the Estate. The footprint is forever. The marathon continues. [infinity emoji]️ Forever inspiring us to grow & ascend. All money in! ”
You can purchase the vinyl records here for $100 each.
Lloyd Banks previously pulled a similar move for his Cold Corner 3 mixtape last fall. While interacting with fans on social media in November, the former G-Unit soldier revealed that he plans to charge fans $100 to listen to his project.
In response to a follower who commented on the MC dropping two projects in one year — The Course of the Inevitable III: Pieces of My Pain and Halloween Havoc IV — he replied: “It’s all good..CC3 won’t be on streaming sites..only available thru me for $100 then we’ll see if they back the talking up.”
When one fan pushed back against the “crazy high” price tag and pointed out that they’ve been “waiting on that shit for a decade,” the Queens native jokingly countered: “10 dollars per year..that’s not bad [crying face emoji].”
The $100 mixtape fee was famously pioneered by Nipsey Hussle back in 2013, who charged fans that amount for a record that was also made available to download for free online.
It was a lucrative move as the late rapper generated $100,000 after selling all 1,000 physical copies in less than 24 hours at a pop-up store in his hometown of Los Angeles.