New Music: Nipsey Hussle feat. Kendrick Lamar - 'Dedication'

Anthem alert! Nipsey Hussle taps Kendrick Lamar for a unifying California collaboration off his upcoming debut album, Victory Lap.

Crenshaw’s Nip opens the track with a verse about his dedication and hopes for unity in the streets. “This the remedy to separation,” he raps. “Tupac of my generation / Blue pill in the fuckin’ Matrix / Red rose in the grey pavement / Young black ni**a trapped, and he can’t change it.”

Compton’s King Kendrick follows up with a verse that brings this theme home: “For generations, we’ve been dealt bad hands with bad plans / Proving your dedication by hoppin’ out Grand Ams / I’m at the premiere, politickin’ with Top, Nip, and Snoop / Damn, ‘Pac watchin’ the way we cool from dedication.”

Hussle spoke with Beats 1 about how the collaboration came together and the conversation that inspired K-Dot’s verse. “When I heard the verse, I was really inspired,” he said. “I felt like he killed it. He actually talked about something that happened the night of the ‘Pac premiere. If you listen to his verse, he’s talking about me, Snoop Dogg, Top Dawg, and himself, we had a conversation about L.A. street shit and about how the time might be right right now for us to really try to use our influence to try to evolve how we exist, Bloods and Crips, and the tribalism that’s going on out there.”

“Dedication” follows previously-released singles like “Grinding All My Life” and “Last Time That I Checc’d” featuring YG. Boasting appearances from Puff Daddy, Buddy, The-Dream, CeeLo Green, and Marsha Ambrosius, Victory Lap is due Feb. 16.