Nipsey Hussle, formally known as Ermias Joseph Asghedom, rapper, and entrepreneur, has recently passed away at the somber age of 33. The father of two and long term boyfriend of actress Lauren London was fatally shot in front of his clothing store, Marathon Clothing. Now while his death was highly publicized, speaking on how influential his music was to the city of Los Angeles amongst many others, this man was furthermore exploited throughout the tabloids.
After it was announced that the rapper was slain on March 31st, 2019, it had come to the public that a memorial service would take place at the Staples Center on April 11th, which had sent waves throughout the world. Immediately, this delicate gesture was partially fumbled by scalpers were hopping on various sites (the most notable being Craigslist) reselling tickets for over $500 a piece. The initial tickets, sold by the ticketing service AXS, made a statement mentioning that the tickets were free and that the actual selling of them was a reservation more than a purchase, leading to them stating that the tickets being “resold” on these second-hand websites couldn’t have been purchased.
Outside of that dilemma, days post-funeral, Laura Ingraham and other co-hosts on behalf of Fox News, had made some statements that were triggering to ones on the outer half of their audience. After a fraction of the song F*ck Donald Trump, a song by the rapper YG that featured Nipsey, Ingraham went on to say, “The chorus that goes on and on, is that related to the lowest unemployment rate ever, basically, for African-Americans?” Many artists including The Game, T.I, Snoop Dogg, and most recently Justin Bieber.
As someone who had only known Nipsey through his features, I was stunned to see that so many had checked for him for many years. But, I was also stunned to see so many talking about him and his impact from ones who didn’t even know his name or brand. For a lot who talk about him now, might’ve only known him to be “Lauren London’s boyfriend”, or the “One Guy on YG’s song about Trump” before he passed. This was a major issue as to why I never showed a true opinion on his passing. I did my research first to see who he was before the bullet, and here we are. Now this will be sharing his accomplishments I’ve discovered post seeing the effects of his passing.
Digging through the mass’s opinions and thoughts, I was able to discover the talents he had, what he had done to give back to his community, and overall, his true story. The Grammy nominee’s life began on August 15th, 1985 in Los Angeles to an Eritrean father and African American mother. He grew up through the rough borrows of Crenshaw and was led into a life of gangs and violence, joining the local group known as the Rollin’ 60s, which is associated with the Crips. Although this being a heavy shadow over his lifetime, Hussle continued to expand opportunities for his community and fought for the rights of people of color.
The Crenshaw native, worked hard to create jobs and open up more opportunities for the people of his neighborhood. Nipsey and his team assisted in Destination Crenshaw, which is a project that is meant to be an African American celebratory outdoor museum/exhibit located directly on Crenshaw Boulevard. This project is still ongoing, but the remnants of his influence will always assist in the upbringing of this piece. Hussle had also put an interest in education, putting up funding and ideas for Vector90, where they created a branch program titled Too Big To Fail. This program put underprivileged, adolescent children of color in the position to learn in STEM ideologies. Nipsey also invested in the elementary school in the neighborhood that goes by 59th Street Elementary School, giving every student a new pair of shoes and by renovating the playing areas and other outdoor properties associated with the school.
Post-Nipsey’s death, I’ve seen his humongous influence not only in his community but truly all over. Watching the live stream of his last lap around his neighborhood, spanning 25 miles, seeing the Staples Center filled with over 20,000 people, including his fans, friends, mentors, and family just shows all the impact one person can have on all people. I’m saddened to write that I was barely familiarized with Nipsey, but am happy to say that I know how he affected the people and how that should be cherished and reflected upon more in the music industry.
