LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nipsey Hussle, a respected rapper who earned a Grammy nomination this year for his major-label debut, was fatally shot outside his clothing store, authorities said. He was 33.
Police said Hussle was one of three men shot Sunday outside Marathon Clothing, his store in South Los Angeles; the other two were in stable condition. A large crowd gathered outside the store as night fell. Detectives were canvassing the area for witnesses and looking to see if any surveillance video captured the shooting, police Lt. Chris Ramirez said.
Mayor Eric Garcetti was among the many people expressing condolences.
“Our hearts are with the loved ones of Nipsey Hussle and everyone touched by this awful tragedy. L.A. is hurt deeply each time a young life is lost to senseless gun violence,” Garcetti tweeted. “My Crisis Response Team is assisting the families coping with shock and grief.”
Hussle, who had two children and was engaged to actress Lauren London, was an Eritrean-American whose real name was Ermias Asghedom.
“This doesn’t make any sense! My spirit is shaken by this!,” Rihanna wrote while posting photos of Hussle with his daughter and another with his fiance. “Dear God may His spirit Rest In Peace and May You grant divine comfort to all his loved ones! I’m so sorry this happened to you @nipseyhussle.”
Hussle was born on Aug. 15, 1985, in the Crenshaw neighborhood of south Los Angeles. He said his first passion was music but getting resources was tough after leaving his mother’s house at 14 to live with his grandmother. Hussle said he got involved in street life as he tried to support himself, and he joined the gang Rollin 60’s Neighborhood Crips as a teenager.
“The culture of my area is the gang culture,” he explained in a 2014 interview with VladTV. “So by being outside, being involved with hustling, being in the hood, doing things to try to get money, being young, you know riding your bike through the hood, getting shot at, your loved ones and homies that’s your age getting killed, getting shot at … it’s like, we were just raised like if you with me and something goes now, I’m in it, whether I’m from the (expletive) or not … So after a while it just be like you always in the middle of some (expletive), you might as well, you know what I mean … be part of it. Or don’t be a part of it and get the (expletive) out the way.”
In this March 29, 2018, file photo, rapper Nipsey Hussle watches an NBA basketball game between the Golden State Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks in Oakland, Calif. Grammy-nominated and widely respected West Coast rapper Nipsey Hussle has been shot and killed outside his Los Angeles clothing store, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Sunday, March 31, 2019. He was 33. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
Music eventually happened for Hussle. He released a number of successful mixtapes that he sold out of the trunk of his car, helping him create a buzz and gain respect from rap purists and his peers. In 2010 he placed on hip-hop magazine XXL’s “Freshman Class of 2010” — a coveted list for up-and-coming hip-hop acts — alongside J. Cole Big Sean, Wiz Khalifa, Jay Rock and others.
The proud West Coast rapper continued to build more hype for himself, scoring big when Jay-Z bought 100 copies of his 2013 mixtape “Crenshaw” for $100 each, and sent him a $10,000 check.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Hussle and rapper YG released the protest song “FDT,” short for “(Expletive) Donald Trump.” He later hit a new peak with “Victory Lap,” his critically acclaimed major-label debut album on Atlantic Records that made several best-of lists last year, from Billboard magazine to Complex. The album debuted at No. 4 on Billboard’s 200 albums charts and featured collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Diddy, CeeLo Green and more.
At this year’s Grammy Awards, “Victory Lap” was one of five nominees for best rap album in a year that hip-hop dominated the pop charts and streaming services and a number of top stars released projects, including Drake, Eminem and Kanye West. Cardi B’s “Invasion of Privacy” won the honor last month, while the other nominees were Travis Scott, Pusha T and Mac Miller.
Haitian-French actor Jimmy Jean-Louis and his daughter Jasmin, 16, gather around candles set up across from the clothing store of rapper Nipsey Hussle in Los Angeles, Sunday, March 31, 2019. Hussle, the skilled and respected West Coast rapper who had a decade-long success with mixtapes but hit new heights with his Grammy-nominated major-label debut album in 2018, has died. He was 33. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
“It’s my debut album so for my first one (to be nominated) out the gate, it’s like, it was overwhelming a little bit. It was … inspiring, humbling,” he said in an interview with the Recording Academy on the red carpet of the 2019 Grammys, which he attended with this daughter.
Many celebrities were mourning his death on social media. NBA star Steph Curry tweeted, “God please cover and restore @NipseyHussle right now!!!”
Snoop Dogg posted a video of himself and Hussle together on Instagram, and posted a second clip sending prayers to the rapper’s family.
“Prayers out to the whole family man. This (stuff has) got to stop man,” he said in the second video.
Rapper Nas mourned Hussle’s death on Instagram and wrote, “It’s dangerous to be an MC. Dangerous to be a b-ball player. It’s dangerous to have money. Dangerous To Be A Black Man.”
“So much hatred. We live like our brothers and sisters in third world countries live. Right in America,” Nas continued. “Its so deep rooted. It’s not a easy fix. Hard to fix anything when kids are still living in poverty. I ain’t shutting up though, Nipsey is a True voice. He will never be silenced.”
Outside of music, Hussle said he wanted to provide hope and motivation to those who grew up in Crenshaw like him, and pay it forward. Forbes magazine reported in February that with business partner Dave Gross, the rapper had purchased the Crenshaw plaza where his Marathon Clothing store is located, and had plans to knock it down and “rebuild it as a six-story residential building atop a commercial plaza where a revamped Marathon store will be the anchor tenant.”
“Watching Nipsey inspired me to invest and own in our communities,” Emmy-nominated actress Issa Rae, also from Los Angeles, wrote on Twitter.
