The Life of Nipsey Hussle
Jalen Hendrix
Jalen Hendrix
People in the world of music, entertainment, and radio have been in shock within the last week due to the death of rapper Nipsey Hussle. The rapper turned activist was gun downed Sunday March 31st right outside of his own store in his hometown of Los Angeles, more specifically the Crenshaw district. As dangerous as the south Los Angeles communities are known to be, no one expected this. Now his millions of fans and the community he desperately wanted to change are now in mourning.
Ermias Joseph Asghedom a.k.a. Nipsey Hussle was born on August 15, 1985 in Los Angeles, California. Hussle grew up in the rough neighborhood of Crenshaw, a district located in the south of Los Angeles. Gang culture dominates areas in south Los Angeles, most notably the Crips and Bloods. Hussle was a member of the Crips, who are known for wearing the color blue. Gangs are a lot of times defined by the colors they represent and if you wear the wrong colors in the wrong area you things can turn violent very quickly. Hussle definitely made that known in his music, he also talked about how safety is a big issue where he is from.
In the second half of 2005, Hussle released his first mixtape Slauson Boy Vol. 1 at the age of 20. Three years later, in 2008, he released two more mixtapes to accompany his existing discography. Bullets Ain’t Got No Name Vol.1 & Vol. 2 were released shortly after he signed a dual contract with Cinematic Music Group and Epic Records. The title itself is clearly a warning statement to people that you should be aware and alert of your surroundings because bullets do not always meet their specific target. In July of 2009 Hussle released his first single entitled “Hussle In the House”. The song marked his first time being introduced to mainstream media on the west coast.
Also in 2009 Hussle released the third installment of his Bullets Ain’t Got No Name mixtape series . He then collaborated with Drake, who at the time was an upcoming rapper on the song “Killer”, and was featured on Snoop Dogg’s “Upside Down”. In 2010 he was released from his contract with Epic records due to unknown conflicts. In turn he founded his own record label All Money In, and released his first official independent project The Marathon on December 21, 2010. The following year he released The Marathon Continues, which features YG. YG is a rapper from the same area as Hussle but a member of his rival gang the Bloods. It is very uncommon that the two gangs ever have peace, and this is one example of how Hussle was an adamant peace-maker.
After releasing a collaborative album with rapper Blanco in 2012, Hussle went back to work. After being featured on Rick Ross’s album as well as other artists’ projects he released yet another mixtape. On October 8, 2013, Hussle released his mixtape entitled Crenshaw. The mixtape was produced heavily by Dj Drama and was released freely on certain streaming services. He also released limited edition copies for $100 each and only made 1,000 individual copies. During this time he also started a relationship with actress Lauren London.
In 2017 Hussle announced the development of Marathon Clothing. Marathon was created along with business partner Carless Civil and his own brother Samiel Asghedom. The idea behind this store was that it would give residents in the area jobs. In 2018 Hussle finally released his much anticipated debut album Victory Lap. The album was nominated in the best rap album category at this years Grammy awards.
On March 31, of this year Hussle and two of his friends were shot in front of his Marathon store on the corner of Crenshaw and Slauson. Hussle was shot two times and apparently spoke to his attacker saying, “You shot me. You got me. I’m good.” After of which the shooter came back and shot him three more times those wounds were of course fatal. Hussle and his friends were transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3:55 (pacific time). Tyara Thompson, says, “It was sad for the culture because all of the impact he made, Nipsey was a person who symbolizes giving back and making it out of the hood.” There is a public memorial service set to be at the Los Angeles Staples Center on Friday April 12th. He leaves behind millions of fans two children and his beloved girlfriend actress Lauren London.
Ermias Joseph Asghedom a.k.a. Nipsey Hussle was born on August 15, 1985 in Los Angeles, California. Hussle grew up in the rough neighborhood of Crenshaw, a district located in the south of Los Angeles. Gang culture dominates areas in south Los Angeles, most notably the Crips and Bloods. Hussle was a member of the Crips, who are known for wearing the color blue. Gangs are a lot of times defined by the colors they represent and if you wear the wrong colors in the wrong area you things can turn violent very quickly. Hussle definitely made that known in his music, he also talked about how safety is a big issue where he is from.
In the second half of 2005, Hussle released his first mixtape Slauson Boy Vol. 1 at the age of 20. Three years later, in 2008, he released two more mixtapes to accompany his existing discography. Bullets Ain’t Got No Name Vol.1 & Vol. 2 were released shortly after he signed a dual contract with Cinematic Music Group and Epic Records. The title itself is clearly a warning statement to people that you should be aware and alert of your surroundings because bullets do not always meet their specific target. In July of 2009 Hussle released his first single entitled “Hussle In the House”. The song marked his first time being introduced to mainstream media on the west coast.
Also in 2009 Hussle released the third installment of his Bullets Ain’t Got No Name mixtape series . He then collaborated with Drake, who at the time was an upcoming rapper on the song “Killer”, and was featured on Snoop Dogg’s “Upside Down”. In 2010 he was released from his contract with Epic records due to unknown conflicts. In turn he founded his own record label All Money In, and released his first official independent project The Marathon on December 21, 2010. The following year he released The Marathon Continues, which features YG. YG is a rapper from the same area as Hussle but a member of his rival gang the Bloods. It is very uncommon that the two gangs ever have peace, and this is one example of how Hussle was an adamant peace-maker.
After releasing a collaborative album with rapper Blanco in 2012, Hussle went back to work. After being featured on Rick Ross’s album as well as other artists’ projects he released yet another mixtape. On October 8, 2013, Hussle released his mixtape entitled Crenshaw. The mixtape was produced heavily by Dj Drama and was released freely on certain streaming services. He also released limited edition copies for $100 each and only made 1,000 individual copies. During this time he also started a relationship with actress Lauren London.
In 2017 Hussle announced the development of Marathon Clothing. Marathon was created along with business partner Carless Civil and his own brother Samiel Asghedom. The idea behind this store was that it would give residents in the area jobs. In 2018 Hussle finally released his much anticipated debut album Victory Lap. The album was nominated in the best rap album category at this years Grammy awards.
On March 31, of this year Hussle and two of his friends were shot in front of his Marathon store on the corner of Crenshaw and Slauson. Hussle was shot two times and apparently spoke to his attacker saying, “You shot me. You got me. I’m good.” After of which the shooter came back and shot him three more times those wounds were of course fatal. Hussle and his friends were transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3:55 (pacific time). Tyara Thompson, says, “It was sad for the culture because all of the impact he made, Nipsey was a person who symbolizes giving back and making it out of the hood.” There is a public memorial service set to be at the Los Angeles Staples Center on Friday April 12th. He leaves behind millions of fans two children and his beloved girlfriend actress Lauren London.
