by Memory Thomas
The death of Nipsey Hussle shook the black community as well as the entertainment industry, leaving millions in disbelief and tears. It also sparked a call to action toward black on black crime, gang violence and rebuilding and buying back the block. A purpose Nipsey would never get the chance to fulfill personally.
It was the middle of the afternoon on March 31, 2019 when news first broke that the rapper Nipsey Hussle and 2 other men on his crew were involved in a shooting on the corner of Crenshaw Blvd and Slauson Ave. All that was announced was that 2 people were in critical condition and 1 person was killed at the scene. I could almost hear the buzz and whispers throughout the streets of Los Angeles as I waited and scrolled through our social media timelines checking for updates, texting and calling those close to me to discuss what was happening, and telling them to pray and hope that it wasn’t Neighborhood Nip who was the one killed. A couple of hours later, at 3:20 pm it was announced that Nipsey Hussle was shot in the parking lot of the Shopping Plaza and clothing store he owned.
Nipsey Hussle was born Ermias Asghedom to a Black mother and Eritrean Father in Los Angeles where he was brought up in the streets of the Crenshaw district, smack dab in the middle of the 1980’s when the streets were the most violent due to the impact of drugs and gangs, most notably the Rolling 60 Neighborhood Crips.
Nipsey took his street experiences and began to put it on a beat as early as 2005. He dropped his first mixtape Slauson Boy Volume 1 and followed with a couple more underground projects. These projects helped him to become a pillar in the community, shedding light on his intelligence, spirituality, and passion for change, all while maintaining his reputation within the gang and local community. His music shared his story of who he was and how he survived the poverty stricken conditions of the LA area; making him inspirational, relatable and authentic to anyone who knew him or his music.
In 2013 he dropped a mixtape titled Crenshaw. He charged $100 per tape in an era where mixtapes were given out free and streamed on the internet for no charge. Rapper and icon, Jay-Z took notice and bought 100 copies of Nipsey’s mixtape to show support. Crenshaw sold out within 24 hours, selling 1000 copies, helping Nipsey make his first 100,000 dollars all on his own. Nipsey had one of the most impressive independent runs in hip hop history. Never settling for a record label and being adamant about having full ownership of his music and career no matter what.
With the 100,000 Nipsey Hussle made off the success of the Crenshaw mixtape, he created his very own record label and named it All Money In. Under the All Money In label, Nipsey dropped his last mixtape Mailbox Money, only pressing 100 copies with the price set at $1,000 each. He sold 60 tapes. With this money, he purchased the Shopping Plaza where he opened his infamous clothing store, “The Marathon”. A strategic plan he’d had since he was a young teen hanging out in the shopping plaza where he and his friends were constantly harassed and kicked out by the original owner of the plaza because of who they were and what they looked like. His desire to own the plaza became reality and he created a neighborhood staple that no one would be kicked out of.
In early 2018, Nipsey dropped what would be his first and final album titled, “Victory Lap”. An album that fans waited 5 years for. Victory Lap quickly climbed up the charts and eventually became nominated for a Grammy as Best Rap Album of the year in 2019.
Nipsey was at the pinnacle of his career when his life came to a sudden end at the age of 33. He had begun to be invited and attend events he’d never imagined himself attending and speaking with real change makers that could help him make a direct impact and continue to help shape the community and people who made him who he was. He wasn’t the biggest hip hop artist of his time but arguably the most entrepreneurial. Nipsey was also in the middle of helping to create a documentary on the life and work of Dr. Sebi, a Honduran herbalist and self-proclaimed healer. There is still so much work to be completed in Nipsey’s name, including the rebuild of his shopping plaza he was gunned down in front of. He had just invested a couple of millions to revamp the Marathon Store and rebuild the shopping plaza into a six story residential building atop of the commercial portion. His final vision was to add a barbershop and restaurant, making the plaza “a vertically integrated retail network” for his brand and community. Nipsey Hussle just wanted to introduce information to his community and the youth that would transform them.
It has been over a month since the sudden passing of Nipsey Hussle and still millions of people are grieving and numb. Even writing this, I still don’t want to believe it.
Some of my family and myself went to visit a vigil in the parking lot of the shopping plaza in front of the Marathon Store in the week following his death. It has been packed with people from all over the world, celebrities, and famous people since April 1st. The Muslim community greeted us with newspapers and a very organized approach to be sure everyone got into the vigil and was able to pay their respects peacefully. The vigil was surrounded by incredible art, millions of flowers and candles. People sold shirts on every corner and Nipsey’s music could be heard from the speakers of the shopping plaza as everyone stood around silently taking it all in. They announced over a microphone that it was the next groups turn to pay their respects. I wrote “Forever I will Hussle and motivate” in sharpie on my candle, quoting one of his songs, lit my candle and sat it with the rest, as our group filed out of our parking lot and back on to Crenshaw Blvd.
His funeral was held a week later at the Staples Center. Seats were all filled up within an hour and most people from the community didn’t get to be in the actual funeral but instead attended the parade at different points. Slauson and Crenshaw were completely shut down for the whole day. People came out in blue hair, shirts, shoes, blue roses, and blue bandannas. A lot of people even got shirts made. I can imagine this is what it was like back in 1993 when Tupac was killed. The energy was electric as Nipsey’s hearse came around and we said our goodbyes for the last time. People shouted Nipsey’s name, climbed on top of billboards, street lights, and gas station pumps and even jumped on top of police cars in the name of Nipsey.
Nipsey Hussle was more than a rapper. Nipsey was a father, Nipsey was a revolutionary, an entrepreneur, a son. Nipsey was a “Crip with book recommendations”, a man with a plan and the light at the end of a systematically and mentally oppressed tunnel for the black community. Nipsey was and is the example a lot of us POC did not have and very well needed. And for that… the marathon continues.