Life is too short to listen to bad music. So…let AFH fight through it for you and only supply you with that great stuff. Despite the reports, Hip-Hop is alive and well and, in many ways, is better than it’s ever been. Not only are we able to go back and listen to all of our favorites, at the click of a button, there is also a ton of great music still being made by artists, young and veteran alike…if you know where to look.

To help with that task, we’ve created two playlists. One features more recent music—songs that have been released within the last year or so—while the other is throwback, focused on the 1980s and ’90s. We update each of these playlists regularly, so, if you like what you hear, subscribe to follow us on Spotify.

Nipsey Hussle Is Releasing His 1st Major Label Album & It’s On His Terms (Video)

Today’s featured track belongs to Nipsey Hussle. Along with JAY-Z and Rick Ross, few are more inspirational than Nipsey in making music about translating big dreams into big things. For more than a decade, Nip has lived up to his name and been dedicated to hustling. Whether it was selling CDs for $100 each or starting his own clothing line, he has shown he’s in the marathon of life to win it, and will not let anything or anyone hold him back. On “Been Down,” Nipsey recruits Swizz Beatz for some soulful motivation music. As the title suggests, the song acknowledges that life can bring you down, but urges you to never let it hold you there. Nipsey says it all in his opening lines: “This what happens. Don’t fold. The game tests you / If you pass it, you gone. They can’t catch you.”

In addition to new Nipsey, the playlist features recent music from N.E.R.D., Jeezy, Statik Selektah, Brent Faiyaz, Jaden Smith, CyHi The Prynce, Scarface, Rapsody, Talib Kweli, Evidence, Fabolous, Jadakiss, Big K.R.I.T., Wu-Tang Clan, Madlib, and a host of others.