How a $100 Cheesesteak Inspired Nipsey Hussle’s $100 Crenshaw Mixtape

Nipsey Hussle’s decision to sell his Crenshaw mixtape for $100 wasn’t simply a bold marketing stunt. The idea reportedly came from an unlikely place: a Philadelphia restaurant and a chapter in the book Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger.

A mentor encouraged Nipsey to read Berger’s book, and one story in particular caught his attention.

In the second chapter, Berger discusses Barclay Prime, a Philadelphia steakhouse that became known for offering a $100 cheesesteak. The sandwich’s extraordinary price generated controversy and curiosity, helping turn the restaurant into a media attraction.

The cheesesteak became newsworthy precisely because of its price. The attention helped bring high-profile visitors and media exposure, including figures such as Oprah Winfrey and David Letterman.

For Nipsey, the lesson wasn’t really about selling an expensive product.

It was about creating something people would talk about.

According to accounts of the story, Nipsey reached the chapter describing the $100 cheesesteak, closed the book and realized he could apply the same principle to his own music.

Instead of trying to make his mixtape accessible to everyone at the lowest possible price, he would intentionally make a limited number of copies available for $100.

That became the strategy behind Crenshaw.

Nipsey released 1,000 physical copies of the mixtape for $100 each. The unconventional price immediately generated attention, but more importantly, it transformed the mixtape into something that felt exclusive and collectible.

The strategy worked.

Jay-Z reportedly purchased 100 copies, spending $10,000 on the project.

What makes the story particularly interesting is that Nipsey wasn’t simply selling music for $100.

He was selling scarcity, exclusivity, conversation and belief in the product.

The $100 price forced people to ask a question:

“Why would anybody pay $100 for a mixtape?”

And that question was exactly what created the attention.

Nipsey Hussle had essentially taken a lesson from a $100 cheesesteak and applied it to the music business—showing how an unconventional price can become a marketing tool when the product, story and audience are aligned.

Sometimes the smartest marketing strategy isn’t figuring out how to make something cheaper.

It’s figuring out how to make people believe it’s worth more.