BY DC CUEVA
Last weekend saw an unspeakable tragedy strike the hip-hop community, one that once again saw a gunman's bullet cut short the life of a rap icon. But unlike what happened last year to XXXTentacion when he was on the brink of something big, the person whose life suddenly ended by an untimely murder was a 10-year veteran who had just seen his hard work and his many years in the genre finally pay off.
Everyone was anxious for his debut album, South Central State of Mind, to take flight in the fall of 2010 and for him to take that next stop to stardom, but that was then nixed by issues with Michael Jackson's former label where he left before it dropped in stores. Hussle would then turn back to working on his own in the interim, forming his own indie label All Money In, and releasing two mixtapes and a collaborative album with guest spots from YG, MGMT and Dom Kennedy. A 2012 single release, "Proud of That" with Rick Ross followed along with more singles and EP's.
Victory Lap debuted in the Billboard Top 5 in mid-February 2018, and featured collaborations with Puff Daddy, Kendrick Lamar, Cee-Lo, The Dream and longtime collaborator YG. It received critical acclaim when it was released in being an album that Hot New Hip Hop wrote, "...toes the line between classic and contemporary hip-hop. It captures the emotion of now, this victorious moment for Hussle, while still pushing for the permanence of a hip-hop classic. The production is masterful, the features are well-placed, and Nipsey raps like he just won a marathon. The race for the victory paid off,"... one for which earned him a Grammy nomination this year for Best Rap Album.
During the time of label uncertainty, Hussle would find love when he began to date Lauren London, and in summer 2016 they welcomed their first child together, joining a family including kids from past relationships including those from her romance with Lil Wayne. Also that year, he invested time into his new clothing line Marathon Clothing, while he also became an icon to both the Los Angeles community and the hip-hop world in spreading positivity.
Last weekend, Hussle had dinner with family and friends at the same restaurant as Bad Girls Club icon Danni Victor, who also appeared on a Teen Mom: Being special featuring MTV Reality icon Cory Wharton when she went off on him at a birthday party. Danni tweeted @IamDanniV, "He was humble, kind, and quiet," and who had planned to meet officials at the LA Police Department and Roc Nation on Monday on gang violence prevention in South Los Angeles. But there was no hint on that Saturday night that it would be the last supper he would ever have with those around him, and that meeting would never take place.
The next day - Sunday, March 31st, Hussle was checking out his Marathon Clothing store in South L.A. and was in the parking lot getting ready to go somewhere else when shots started to ring out. At just before 3:30pm, he was shot six times, five in the torso and another on target to his head, while two others were also wounded. But upon the arrival of the three victims at a local hospital at 3:55pm local time, Hussle was pronounced dead at the young age of 33. It was on Monday that authorities identified 29-year-old Eric Holder as the prime suspect, and while he was known to the rapper investigators think that the shooting was likely motivated by a personal matter. On Tuesday, the LAPD captured Holder a day after after shots again were fired during a candlelight vigil for Hussle, and today the shooter plead not guilty as he was held on $5 million bail in court.
Reaction to Nipsey's death was both immediate and widespread as the world's top-trending topic last Sunday, and so many people both in and outside the hip-hop circle have shared their memories of getting to meet Nipsey in the days since that devastating tragedy, and or how they were touched by his music. Simply scroll through your feed on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and beyond from this past week, and you can't go anywhere without someone paying tribute to him or making a mention of Hustle... a sign of how so many were affected by the shootings.
By now, everyone has seen Lauren London's painful tribute to her late boyfriend on Instagram, the same platform where she and Nipsey first connected five years ago. She would write in that first public statement after the shooting, "I am completely lost. I've lost my best friend, my sanctuary, my protector, my soul.... I'm lost without you. We are lost without you babe. I have no words." And those like Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez, Ciara, Tyrese and Kimora Lee Simmons have sent messages of prayer to her in a photo montage of them and their baby that has gotten 5 million likes since Tuesday.
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| Instagram @DeeNguyen |
Three years before in 2016 while on a holiday trip to Los Angeles, Dee got to meet him outside a pizza eatery at Melrose Place in West Hollywood, and after the shooting that took place Monday morning in Australia, she shared it with her Instagram followers. She told an Instagram user, "I remember him being so happy that I was from Australia and asked me if I wanted a photo with him because it was awesome that he had a fan that was so far away 😔." And she captioned in that photo below, "Thank you for blessing us with your music. I still remember this day so clearly, how you took the time to chat to me and get to know me even though you had people waiting for you. So thankful I had the opportunity to meet you. RIP you legend. #nipseyhussle"
- I AM DC
#DCBLOG
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