After three years, justice is served for hip hop legend Nipsey Hussle.
Earlier this week, the man who killed Nipsey, Eric Holder, was found guilty of murder.
Lauren London, Nipsey’s partner and mother of his son, broke her silence on Instagram. She didn’t address the ruling; however, she paid homage to Nipsey. She shared a promo for her collaboration with Puma. The caption says, “Classics remain forever. The iconic T7 re-invented.” In Lauren’s IG story, she shared another photo paired with Nipsey Hussle’s lyrics in the background with the song, “Don’t Take Days Off.“
On March 31, 2019, the “Hussle & Motivate” rapper, 33 at the time, was gunned down outside of his Marathon clothing store. Eric was found guilty of first-degree murder. In addition to two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter because two bystanders were hit by gunfire.
Nip’s death broke the world’s heart. His legacy lives on forever, as fans and people continue to say, “the marathon continues,” the rapper’s catchphrase. ABC points out artists and people that admired the rapper and recently spoke about him.
Rick Ross, who has a tattoo of Nip on his leg, said, “He’s a legend, poet. I loved him as a emcee when I first met him over a decade ago. I’m just happy to see the marathon still continues.”
An employee of Nip’s store, Herman “Cowboy” Douglas, said, “I feel regret that I left his side,” Douglas said, who also heard the initial conversation between Hussle and Holder. He was inside the clothing store when he heard the gunshots. He went on to say, “I should’ve never left his side. I did not see this coming. No way, no how.” To honor Nip, Herman has a mural of the rapper on his restaurant.
Nipsey was a treasure, a rare gem trying to break the cycle of gang culture. The Grammy Award winner was a staple in his community and went above and beyond “giving back.” He provided jobs, purchased the strip mall where his clothing store is located and had plans to turn it into a low-income residential complex.
Aside from the clothing store, he had a fish market, barbershop, burger restaurant. He also launched a co-working space and STEM center in an urban area.
In his music and his lifestyle, he portrayed the idea of not idolizing material things, like cars/jewelry. He also motivated the hood to strive for more; like in his song, “Young N*gga,” in one of the lines, he promotes the idea of artists owning their masters.
In the song he raps, “First you over dedicate, then you notice that you great, And you been the whole time, then it slap you in the face, Then you stack it in your safe, got it cracking, it was fate, You the definition, n*gga, laughing to the bank, I’m a master of my fate, plus I’m the type of n*gga own the masters to my tape.”