I want to preface this article by saying, I have not been a fan of Nipsey Hussle before his sudden and unfair death and I do not claim to be. I have always been aware of the contributions he made to his community through stimulating conversation with my beloved friends from LA and surrounding areas. I knew about the efforts he made to give back to his community and other areas similar to where he grew up, and some people who benefited from some of the work he has done, whether it was indirectly or directly.
So when I heard that the rumors were in fact, true, Nipsey had passed away and his children witnessed this hate act. I was in complete and utter shock. That was one of the few moments, I actually responded with real emotion—not an emoji and a blank facial expression. I was truly conflicted. I knew I had no real grounds to feel that this was a loss to me, as I wasn’t a fan and had limited knowledge of him restricted to hearsay and social media. But that didn’t stop me from feeling the anger for him, compassion for Lauren London and their children, and confusion about who would take a champion away from a community, a family and a partner.
I instantly hurt all over. To actually know how it feels to watch your parent die, its life-altering. I couldn’t help but hope Lauren and her kids can attempt to find some peace to mourn, meanwhile, videos of the tragedy are floating around the internet. As if it’s already not enough to have your father die without the added publicity. I can’t even imagine the pain they’re experiencing.
Once I tuned in to my socials, I realized I was not alone. A lot my surrounding community was taking this celebrities death particularly a little hard. Losing someone that was clearly adding something to the global community, shouldn’t sit well with anyone—and it didn’t. My TL was and still is in shambles. For some reason nobody could put their fingers on, this one hurt us all. Regardless of whether we were fans of his music or admired the way he loved his community and his girl, we felt it.
So, a lot of people found themselves asking the question of, “where do we go from here? “ I feel we should all let this tragic loss inspire us. Whether it inspires us to give back to the communities that made us or become more financially responsible for investing and buying things with value. Allow this loss to inspire you to continue the work he clearly saw the need for. While we may have lost a legend way too soon, we have the power to let his legacy live through us, Crenshaw & Slauson, the greater LA community, and the world.
PSA: Nipsey owned all of the masters to his music, so streaming him right now (and forever) will directly benefit his family.
I’d love for someone to DM me some songs! My Instagram is @stephaniexnichole