The rock song Nipsey Hussle surprisingly called one of his favourites
Nipsey Hussle was inspired by Death Row as a kid growing up on the West Coast, with Snoop Dogg, 2Pac, Dr Dre and Tha Dogg Pound among his favourites, with his taste then expanding to the likes of Outkast, Jay-Z, Biggie Smalls, Nas and Juvenile. All things considered, the last thing you’d expect is for him to be listening in rock music.
However, during an interview in the years prior to his death, Nipsey Hussle surprisingly revealed that ‘Iris’ by the Goo Goo Dolls was one of his favourite songs of all time. The Crenshaw rapper first heard the song on the soundtrack for City of Angels, the 1998 romantic fantasy film starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan. The record immediately touched him through both the lyrics and production.
“One of my favourite songs that people would probably be surprised by, I like this Goo Goo Dolls song called ‘Iris’. I think that song’s crazy,” Nipsey Hussle told Billboard. “Just the words and what’s being said on there, I heard it when, I think it was on the City of Angels soundtrack a long time ago. And I was like, ‘Damn, this record crazy.'”
The legendary rapper added, “I wasn’t a big fan of rock but just the words and what was being said and the sound of it. And I got into the Goo Goo Dolls after that. But that’s one of my favourite records.” It’s one of the most disappointing things to come out of Hussle’s mouth.
‘Iris’ was released in April 1998 and, as well as the City of Angels soundtrack, appeared on the Goo Goo Dolls’ sixth album, Dizzy Up the Girl. The song is one of the best-selling singles of all time in Ireland, reaching number one in Australia, Canada and Italy, number three in the UK and number nine on the Hot 100 in the US.
Goo Goo Dolls vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik previously revealed that the track was written specifically with Nicolas Cage’s City of Angels character, Seth, in mind.
“When I wrote it, I was thinking about the situation of the Nicolas Cage character in the movie,” he told Songfacts. “This guy is completely willing to give up his own immortality, just to be able to feel something very human. And I think, ‘Wow! What an amazing thing it must be like to love someone so much that you give up everything to be with them.’ That’s a pretty heavy thought.”
He continued, “That was the first time we’d ever been in the studio with strings. I remember kneeling in front of the control room window, looking out at this 15-piece string ensemble, then looking at Robby [Takac] and saying, ‘I really think we’re turning a corner here, and I don’t know if I want to.'”
Rzeznik has gone as far as saying ‘Iris’ was the sound of him “growing up”, serving as an important part of the band’s evolution.