Remembering Nipsey Hussle, the Eritrean-American rapper who died today morning

Nipsey Hussle is a name that most people had never heard of, except for hardcore hip-hop heads( and there is no shame there). Like the late XXXtentacion before him, enormous interest has been aroused after his untimely death yesterday.

Who was the departed rapper?

Birth

Nipsey was born in 1985 and his real names at birth were the unpronounceable, Ermias Davidson Asghedom.

Hussle was an Eritrean American and was raised in the Crenshaw neighbourhood of South Los Angeles. He was also a member of the local Rollin 60’s Neighborhood Crips gang. He emerged from the West Coast hip hop scene in the mid-2000s.

He adapted his stage name from Nipsey Russell, an iconic black comedian and actor.

Career

He early style emulated that of Snoop Dogg by injecting humour into his rhymes.  Nipsey Hussle became a quick mixtape favourite in the late 2000s with his gritty street observations.

His eighth official mixtape, Crenshaw, arrived in 2013. Drawing attention for its $100 price tag, it still broke into the Top 40 of the Billboard Heatseekers chart.

Hussle initially became known for his numerous mixtapes, including his Bullets Ain’t Got No Name series, The Marathon, The Marathon Continues and Crenshaw, the latter of which rapper Jay-Z, bought 100 copies for $100(10,000) shillings each.

In 2010, Hussle appeared on the song “We Are the World 25 for Haiti”, and was chosen to be the part as one of the XXL Magazine’s “Annual Freshman Top Ten”, a selection of ten up-and-coming artists.

In December 2012, Hussle hinted more at the signing with Maybach Music Group/Warner Bros. Records, it was but said that he would still be looking for the right label.

He commented on the 2016 US presidential election by releasing the single FDT with YG.

After deciding against signing to a major label, due to a lack of creative freedom, he chose to make ‘Victory Lap’ his debut album which will undoubtedly go down as his magnum opus’

The debut studio album ‘Victory Lap’ which was released in February 2018 to critical acclaim and commercial success.

The album featured guests like YG, Puff Daddy, Kendrick Lamar, The-Dream, Cee Lo Green, and more. The set debuted in the Top 5 of the Billboard 200 and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in 2019.

Cardi B’s album, ‘Invasion of Privacy’ eventually won the award.

Personal life

The rapper left behind two kids, Kross and Emani Asghedom with two different women, actress Lauren London and Tanisha Asghedom.

London had children from a previous relationship with fellow rapper Lil Wayne, while Hussle had a daughter from a previous relationship named Emani.

Unfortunately for Nipsey, his life was snuffed out after a gunman shot him a reported 6 times on March 31, 2019. He was shot outside the parking lot of his store, Marathon Clothing, on 3420 West Slauson Avenue in South Los Angeles at about 3:25 p.m.

Two others were wounded in the shooting. All three victims were transported to a hospital, where Hussle was pronounced dead.

Upon hearing the news, many athletes, actors, and musicians offered their condolences on social media.