Today at NAA B-Radio, we’re Remembering Nipsey Hussle On The Anniversary of his Passing.
Nipsey became known for his numerous mixtapes, including his Bullets Ain’t Got No Name series, The Marathon, The Marathon Continues, and Crenshaw, the last of which rapper Jay-Z bought 100 copies for $100 each. After much delay, his debut studio album Victory Lap was released in 2018 to critical acclaim and commercial success and was nominated for the Best Rap Album at the 61st Grammy Awards in 2019. Two posthumous Grammy Awards for the songs “Racks in the Middle” and “Higher” were awarded to Hussle in the Best Rap Performance and Best Rap/Sung Performance categories, respectively, the next year at the 62nd Grammy Awards.
But on to today,
He was a community activist and was part of a group who created Destination Crenshaw, a museum honoring artistic achievements by African-Americans. Hussle also invested in a coworking space in South Central Los Angeles called Vector90, which provided a place for youth to take classes in science, technology and mathematics.
A petition was started to rename the intersection of Slauson Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard near Hussle’s store Marathon Clothing to “Nipsey Hussle Square”. On the day of his funeral, the council announced it was set to be renamed Ermias “Nipsey Hussle” Asghedom Square to honor him and his contributions to the neighborhood.
There was a strong artistic response to Nipsey Hussle’s death. Within a few months, over 50 murals dedicated to the rapper were painted in the City of Los Angeles.
Hussle is survived by a daughter named Emani Asghedom from a previous relationship, whom he took as his date to the Grammy Awards. He is also survived by a 2-year-old son, Kross Asghedom, with his girlfriend of five years, actress Lauren London. Hussle and London told GQ they first met when she came into his clothing store.
A documentary about Nipsey Hussle’s life, directed by Ava DuVernay is coming to Netflix soon, we can’t wait to see it and learn more about the iconic artist that is Nipsey Hussle.
For more information on Remembering Nipsey Hussle On The Anniversary, check out the Video Spotlight we did on the late artist at https://naabradio.com/qtvideo/nipsey-hussle-spotlight/