Grand Finale, Nipsey Hussle

The hip hop community is known for emphasizing “the grind”, the act of dedicating yourself to your craft by way of hard work and sacrifice. Nipsey Hussle embodied this blueprint by transforming himself from a mixtape rapper to a Grammy nominated artist. Hussle was more than a artist. He was a well rounded independent artist with an entrepreneurial mind. Hussle was also a person who paid homage to the pioneers before him. On multiple occasions Nipsey acknowledged adopting the Master P business model.

With his music career, and business portfolio on the rise, the unfortunate incident occurred on March 31. Hussle was shot a total of six times in the parking lot of his Marathon Clothing Store. He was transported to the hospital, and shortly after pronounced dead. Two days later, the alleged gunman Eric Holder was apprehended by the Los Angeles Police Department. In an eerie twist, Holder is being defended by Chris Darden, the former prosecutor in the O.J.Simpson murder case. 

As his family friends, members of the hip hop community, and fans continue trying to process this tragic loss, a venue has been selected to hold Hussle’s memorial service. The Staples Center in downtown L.A. is the place where the life of Nipsey Hussle will be celebrated on Thursday, April 11.Only ticket holders will be able to gain admission. The twenty plus thousand seated arena was the site of Michael Jackson’s funeral back in 2007.

Nipsey Hussle was on the verge of building an empire. He laid the foundation down and proceeded to show growth and prosperity. It would have been very interesting to see what the finished product would have looked like.  Nipsey Hussle was a young king who definitely fits the category of “gone too soon.”