Credit: Press

While Nipsey Hussle’s sound couldn’t be neatly packaged into one of hip-hop subgenres, what we can say is that, broadly speaking, he had a hard sound. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t enjoy the softer sides of music, too.

There was a less gritty side to Nipsey, and it was apparent in his taste for music. One of his favourite songs, in fact, was a soft rock classic.

Nipsey, by his own admission, absolutely loved ‘Iris,’ the signature song of the Goo Goo Dolls. Released in 1998, the song was a major hit and became literally one of the best-selling singles of all time.

But while so many people were into the ballad, future rappers with a hardcore sensibility hardly seem like they would have been the target audience. But never judge a book by its cover, and all that.

Speaking to Billboard in 2018, the LA rapper explained how he first came across ‘Iris’ and discovered how much he loved it. “I heard it when…it was on the City of Angels soundtrack a long time ago,” he explained.

City of Angels is a romantic fantasy drama that, as the name implies, was set in Los Angeles and boasted Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan as its leads. It was released in 1998, and, while it received mixed reviews, its soundtrack was widely praised.

City of Angels: Music from the Motion Picture featured, in addition to the Goo Goo Dolls, featured Alanis Morissette, U2, Jimi Hendrix and many other huge acts. It sold millions of copies and has since been certified five times platinum.

Nipsey, who would have been a young teenager when City of Angels and its soundtrack came out, was absolutely enamored with ‘Iris’ when he heard it for the first time. “I was like, ‘Damn, this record crazy,’” he recalled.

‘Iris’ wasn’t like anything else he was listening to at the time, but something about it resonated with the young man. “I wasn’t a big fan of rock,” he admitted, “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.”