It's always nice to hear about fond memories of Nipsey Hussle. The rapper was slain last March, a life and talent taken far too soon, and Swizz Beatz is speaking about his time bonding with Nipsey over their love of art. Swizz spoke with Angie Martinez on the Untold Stories of Hip Hop, and he recalled Nipsey giving him a call when an art gallery owner tried to swindle him.
"He was calling me every week about art. I remember him calling me from a gallery, they was trying to take advantage of him on this one piece," Swizz recalled. "They didn't know he was putting them on the phone with me. He was just like, 'I'm gonna put you on the phone with somebody that's gon' negotiate this for me.' And the dude was like, 'Yeah, there's not too much to negotiate.'
Swizz said he was familiar with the art piece, a print, and he could tell they were trying to pull a fast one on the rapper. "They had it marked up by fifty percent," Swizz added. When the megaproducer told the owner who he was, the gallery owner changed his tune and said he would accommodate Nipsey—including slashing the price. "They knew they couldn't play with me."
The owner gave Nipsey the piece half-off, and later the rapper called up Swizz to ask what he said to him. "Ever since then, he was calling me about art like, every other week... I became his art consultant. [It was] a good vibe to see him in that space." Check out the clip below.
