The Marathon (mixtape)

The Marathon is a mixtape by American rapper Nipsey Hussle. It was released on December 21, 2010 for free legal download and for download on iTunes.^[1][2] The mixtape was released by All Money In.^[3]

The Marathon
Mixtape by Nipsey Hussle
Released	December 21, 2010 (2010-12-21)
Recorded	2010
Genre	Hip hop
Label	Cinematic All Money In
Producer	Nipsey Hussle (exec.) Big K.R.I.T. Ralo Stylez Mr. Lee
Nipsey Hussle chronology
Bullets Ain't Got No Name Vol. 3 (2009) The Marathon (2010) The Marathon Continues (2011)
Singles from The Marathon
"Feelin Myself" Released: June 2, 2010

Background

He released the mixtape around the time he was trying to get out of his record deal with Epic Records so he could release his debut album South Central State of Mind independently.^[4] The mixtape's theme is a "declaration of independence from the confines of the traditional music biz that forced him to endure over two years worth of delayed celebration for the still-pending release of his formal debut, South Central State of Mind."^[5]

Singles

The first single from the album is "Keys to the City".^[6] The official music video was released on June 6, 2011 on Vimeo^[7] and was directed by Dan "The Man" Melamid, who also directed the video for Nipsey Hussle's 2009 single, "Hussle In The House". The song was released for retail sale on September 2, 2013.^[8]

Controversy

On the first leak off the mixtape, "Mr. Untouchable", Nipsey raps a bar that says: "High 'til we die, so it's muthafucc a Detox" [sic] which Nipsey in an interview with Vibe, stated it was not a diss line to West Coast rapper/producer Dr. Dre and his now-shelved studio album Detox. He also maintained the diss was "...nothin’ personal. I ain’t never really reached out to Dre, or Dre ain’t never really reached out to me, so it ain’t a shot against him, it’s just, my focus is on what I’m doing now."^[5]

Critical reception

XXL made the mixtape the 49th best mixtape of 2010 and praised Nipsey's ability to bring back an earlier era of West coast hip hop music.^[9]

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Love?"	The High Standard
2.	"Keys 2 the City"	Djay Cas ENG
3.	"Mr. Untouchable" (featuring Kokane)	Jaywan
4.	"Blue Laces" (featuring Mars of 1500 or Nothin')	Mr. Lee
5.	"A Million"	Cookin' Soul
6.	"Top Down"
7.	"Young Rich and Famous"	Caddalak Beatz
8.	"U Don't Got a Clue"	Wizzo & The Teamsterz
9.	"7 Days a Week"
10.	"Late Nights and Early Mornings"
11.	"I Be Killen Um"	Ryan Leslie
12.	"Call from the Bank" (featuring MGMT)
13.	"Grindmode"	Tim Ned
14.	"Dreamin"	Y$E
15.	"The Crown"
16.	"Mac 11 on the Dresser"
17.	"One Take 3"	Big K.R.I.T.
18.	"I Don't Give a Fucc"	QD3

Charts

Chart (2019)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[10]	179

References

1. "New Mixtape: Nipsey Hussle 'The Marathon' | VIBE". 2010-12-23. Archived from the original on 2010-12-23. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
2. "iTunes - Music - The Marathon by Nipsey Hussle". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-12-21. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
3. Raj (2010-12-21). "Download: Nipsey Hussle - The Marathon | The Smoking Section". Smokingsection.uproxx.com. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
4. "New Music: Nipsey Hussle – 'The Marathon' [Mixtape]". Rap-Up.com. 2010-12-21. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
5. Arnold, Paul W (2010-12-21). "Nipsey Hussle Talks Leaving Epic Records, Dissing "Detox" | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
6. "Nipsey Hu$$le - Keys to the City | New Hip Hop Music & All The New Rap Songs 2011". HipHop DX. 2010-11-22. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
7. Hussle, Nipsey. "Nipsey Hussle - Keys To The City on Vimeo". Vimeo.com. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
8. "Keys 2 the City - Single by Nipsey Hussle". iTunes. 2 September 2013.
9. "The 100 Best Mixtapes of 2010 (49-1)". Xxlmag.Com. 2010-12-31. Archived from the original on 2011-01-04. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
10. "Nipsey Husle Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2019.