IMO he was celebrated while he was alive.....Nip has a fanbase and it's been slowly growing since his first mixtape....it wasn't on Snoops, Game, or even Kendricks level but since he was independent it was more of a MARATHON then a sprint to him so i feel he was just about to get the love and attention he deserved after dropping his first studio album and having the Grammy nomination to go with it. Maybe he was cool with the slow grind he was on anyway....i remember alot of people had him pegged as the next Snoop when he first came out and he changed up his style a bit once he dropped Crenshaw....that's where he started to bubble IMO cuz he's the only rapper I know that sold a (free)mixtape for $100.....and if you missed that wave...he then turned around and sold the next one for $1,000....and it worked and got him alot of recognition amongst his peers and true hiphop fans. Now if you weren't in tune to the hip hop scene like that you wouldn't know Nipsey....he had freestyles on BET, videos on MTV and Youtube, and collaborated with a lot of your favorite rappers.....Jadakiss had him on his first single off TOP5 DOA...Rick Ross featured him during MMG's run.....Snoop always lended a hand and him and Game kinda came up together....i think becuz the rappers i mention earlier popped alot quicker, Nipsey's grind was in the shadows and honestly it seems he was cool with that because he valued OWNERSHIP over stardom anyway....which again he was on his way to