After banging YG's Blame It On The Streets for a while and following it up with Nipsey Hussle's latest mixtape Mailbox Money, my summer has been set firmly in Los Angeles. South Central to be exact and I've got no issues with that because along with all the other slick hip hoppers from the West, Nipsey Hussle is putting the left coast back at the forefront of the hip hop world.

To be honest I feel like Mailbox Money hit me at the perfect time - the start of 2015, like right at the beginning of a year I thought would bring flying cars and teleporting toilet stools. Usually I have my musical device in front of me so I can know what track is playing as it gives you a good idea of how it all fits. This time around I just let Mailbox Money play in the background, I let Nipsey Hussle be that angel on your shoulder, guiding you. Which creates for a nice listening experience as it's cohesive to the point where you can just let it ride out, not one of the 16 tracks should be skipped.

Which is odd, because Nipsey Hussle is a gangbanging crip, a Rollin 60's crip to be precise. That means that street smarts and a perspective that has seen and heard pretty much everything there is to see and hear in most cities, is offered to you. But he's not your average mind as he's been able to transition from gangbanging to being an artist to releasing his music with no major label, slanging his Crenshaw album for $100 a piece and a ticket to a live show.

Fantastic.

Hussle has done away with the blueprint that was laid out for him and he's used a creative mind and his imagination to find a reasonable solution to the so called problem of people getting their music for free. He's done that while many others struggle, fight and try to change how things are. That in itself is motivation.

Nipsey Hussle sounds like that West West yo, with a laid back flow that is in a strange way very intense at the same time. He's not going to spit rapid fire, word play that dazzles your mind but he delivers stories and slickness that kind of grabs you and forces you to take note. It's unique because he's not just telling street stories, but he's, well, he's just telling you how it is. The bravado that goes hand in hand with hip hop feels that much more genuine with Hussle, being able to do that with an impeccable flow and crispness, now that's what gets you.

That, along with the beats. Nipsey raps on beats from 15 (on 16 tracks with multiple producers on a few different tracks) different craftsmen which gives you plenty of variety but all the beats maintain an irresistible head nodding thump. I honestly don't know what more to say, it's just a thump with a bit of spice sprinkled on top from each producer.

Mailbox Money gets you in a mindset of attack. Whether maliciously or just having a forward thinking, progressive mindset, you want to get up and get shit done. The beats get your body moving and the lyrics get you thinking.

My Bang Up Banger is, uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmm they're all really good. Gun to my head and I'll say 'That's How I Knew'. I wouldn't sleep on 'Status Symbol' either if you want something to get ya thinking.

What Is It? Mailbox Money is gangsta. It's just that good gangsta shit which isn't so much telling you about being a gangsta, but giving you wisdom from that life. Nothing frizzy, just grown man spit.