Sometimes it’s hard to imagine that people of certain statures deal with the same issues that the majority goes through. At least that seems to be the sentiment when you enter spaces such as Twitter or Facebook, where its fairly common for people to go in hard on the rich and famous for every little misstep.
The irrational demand for perfection from society can’t be entirely blamed on the masses, however. Some celebrities and public figures do it to themselves by appearing to be so perfect in the public eye. But, every once in a while, the world is blessed with a real one. Someone who is not afraid to admit that they have flaws and have failed.
Nipsey Hussle was one of those people — and it added to his greatness. The late rapper sat down with Hard Knock TV’s Nick Huff Barili in 2018 to give an in-depth interview about his music career. Of course, he had some great gems of wisdom. When Barili asked Nipsey about a tweet he posted where the rapper questioned himself, Nipsey admitted to feeling overwhelmed.
“It’s being, like, pressured, overwhelmed,” Nipsey said. “Mentally exhausted — and you still got a lot of sh– to think about and to make decisions on.”
Nipsey goes on to say that the more you demand of yourself the more of that pressure you will feel. A lot of the times, people may feel these emotions in the middle of major projects or while embarking on pivotal moments and what it comes down to is mentality and mental health. Nipsey likens the struggle to conquer being overwhelmed to working out in the gym.
“Even when you work out, your body is a lot stronger than your brain,” Nipsey continues. “And you gotta catch your brain up. Your muscles will be ready to keep going, but your brain will have its limit. It’ll be like, ‘I can’t do no more.’ Then, your body will follow suit. But, when you break the mental barriers, you’ll notice ‘Damn, I could do way more — I was crazy, I had way more in me.'”
Still, the “Double Up” rapper can get burnt out, and that in turn can impact the ability to be creatively inspired. So, he has developed techniques to cope, including taking 15 minute breaks, leaving his phone in the car to avoid interruptions, doing quick workouts, and smoking cannabis. The whole goal is to keep being productive.
“If today ain’t the day and you know you want to get it done and it’s not getting done, you just come back,” he said. “You might leave for a hour and come back. It’s no one way to do it.”
Perceived as an angel in wolf’s clothing, Nipsey is a product of his environment. However, instead of using his environment as an excuse to not challenge himself to evolve and edify his mind, he chose to pursue a higher vibration while taking his hood with him. As the years fly by, fans can be assured that golden ticket moments in his past interviews will continue to be discovered and will do its part in sparking the brains that will change the world. One major takeaway from the thought-provoking interview is that persistence can go a long way.
“You got to tap in mentally to different places,” Nipsey said. “I might leave and come back sometime, I’ll just come back. I’ll get my energy straight and come back. That’s probably my secret, I always come back.”
Image Credit: GQ
