It’s been three days since Nipsey Hussle was gunned down outside his clothing store in South Los Angeles, and now a petition has been created to name the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and Slauson Avenue “Nipsey Hussle Way.”
The intersection is where Hussle’s store The Marathon Clothing is, and it’s where he was killed in a shooting the police say was carried out by a man named Eric Holder, who has been arrested.
The petition was created Tuesday on Change.org, and its creator, who called Hussle a “community icon,” told people to contact L.A. Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson to make the switch. The petition now has over 270,000 signatures, and that number is growing rapidly.
Clearly, Hussle wasn’t your everyday rapper, merely concerned with hit singles and chart positions. He had a deep passion to uplift his community and often talked about entrepreneurship, as well as investing in real estate.
Hussle also started Vector 90 last year in South Los Angeles, which is a co-working space for tech people, young folks and artists of all kinds.
The rapper had plans to curb gang violence as well, and he and Jay-Z‘s Roc Nation had plans to meet with the LAPD to see how they could make it happen. It was something LAPD Commissioner Steve Soboroff talked about at a press conference on Tuesday, and he read a portion of an email Hussle sent him.
“Our goal is to work with the department to help improve communication, relationships and work toward changing the culture and dialogue between LAPD and the inner-city,” wrote Nipsey on Feb. 26. “We want to hear about your new program and your goals for the department, as well as how we can help stop gang violence and help you help kids.”
The meeting was supposed to take place on Monday and will be rescheduled once Hussle’s family as well as Roc Nation are ready.
With regard to the street name change, the request will have to reach the Los Angeles County Street Naming Committee, and if they determine a change should be made, the request goes to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.