Rapper Nipsey Hussle was shot to death and his homophobic past came back to light. How do we square away our past pain while mourning? Yesterday, news broke that LA based rapper Nipsey Hussle had been shot in front of the store he owned called Marathon Clothing in South LA. As details emerged, many prayed that the 33-year-old rapper would survive his injuries despite the grim details and videos coming from the scene of the crime. Unfortunately, the rapper quickly succumbed to his injuries—six gunshot wounds including one to the head. And immediately following the death, social media was split between grief and apathy, a place we have been before when we lose the life of a Black celebrity with a complicated past. A past somewhat littered with homophobia. It needs to be stated again that we have been here before as a community: Whether it be Sandra Bland, Erica Garner, or XXXTentacion, we have seen folks lack nuance in their deaths in an attempt to only show “the good” of what a person stood for—or this belief that if more time was afforded to said person growth could have happened, especially when it comes to homophobia. My greatest fear now is that we are not learning from these moments and rather repeating a cycle of silencing communities that justifiably can feel indifferent about a person, while also holding space for those who mourn. That communities who had been particularly hurt by people like Nipsey due to held beliefs, and now are expected to forget that pain so quickly in the wake of death. But it doesn’t work like that. Nipsey, like many Black men I have encountered was a complicated individual when it came to his politics. He has been challenged and called out publicly for his blatant homophobia—something that he and many others feel emasculate Black men while harming our public image. In a Breakfast Club interview following the statements, Nipsey alluded to the fact that he has queer people in his life, as well as around him regularly so he wouldn’t ever discriminate against their “lifestyle.” Although many are sharing this as growth, I can attest that his views in that interview are still part of the problem. There is often this request for people who are queer to be who you are, just not so publicly. This notion that we must be race first at all times because image of Black men is more important than the space for men to not be a monolith in performance of masculinity and manhood. This assumption that it is a “lifestyle” like that of the rich and famous when it is in fact our life. And within this is a belief that the more visible our community is, the more it will destroy Black male images and, in some way, influence Black kids to identify across the LGBTQ spectrum. Nipsey represented a micro part of a macro issue—meaning he is not the beginning nor ending of homophobia but as a leader plays a role in how that is discussed among the community that follows his every word. That is something he should be held accountable for. It is truly okay for us to talk about people in totality. What Nipsey was doing for many segments of the Black community is to be applauded. Teaching Black folks about reinvesting in their communities, trying to bridge the gap between Silicon Valley and urban areas is something to be commended. He was also part of a group that created Destination Crenshaw, a community space honoring artistic achievements by African Americans. Nipsey also invested in a coworking space called Vector90, which provided a place for youth to take classes in science, technology, and mathematics. Nipsey has also made some homophobic comments and made comments stating “Black women are a disgrace to Black culture”. There is nothing wrong with discussing who he fully was, the good, the bad, and the growing. So, I want us to get to a place where we can discuss a Black life where we don’t reduce a person to their homophobia but also not deifying them to the second coming of Jesus in a attempt to negate their total truth. I want us to learn to talk about the gray areas of a person’s life with nuance and balance. And I want us to have the ability to hold space when people critique folk in death because let’s face it, there is no valid time where critique has ever been acceptable. I want Black liberation, and to me, this liberation looks like all of us being able to understand that any personal feelings against one’s politics can’t trump our feelings of disdain for Black death. It’s a position that we must choose for ourselves, because within this project we must create space to truly respect others in the LGBTQ community whose wounds run too deep for them to continue to fight for people who will never fight for them. And this is something that the cishet community must learn to not only understand, but accept. Points that allies and advocates need to work on as well. Today I pray hard for my community, the entire community. The community that mourn and the community wounded. I’ve said it earlier, and I’ll say it again: I hate seeing Black death. We lost a 33-year-old Black man who had done many great things, but still had a lot of growing to do. Two kids lost their father. A woman lost what she has stated was “her soulmate.” And a community is once again asked to be silent in their pain. But we also lost a trans woman by the name of Ashanti Carmon who was gunned down this weekend, too. She was in her 20’s — yet only one will be discussed ongoing. Her death is tied to the subtle violence that blossoms from homophobic beliefs that so many in Black community carry, so in these moments, where we again must face grief at every angle, we must not look away from the truth — even if not perfect.<doc-sep>*Before I begin this story I must share with you my personal thoughts about this talented and bright individual whose life was cut short way too soon. In 1992 I acquired an apartment in LA over on the corner of West Blvd, and 59th Pl right next door to E. J. Jackson’s Limousine service where I began to raise my son and daughter from the time they were nine and ten years of age until they got out of high school and began to start thinking for themselves. I lived on that corner for 22 years and witnessed just about everything you could think of. And I watched how they unfortunately gravitated to the life style of the hood which also happened to be getting involved with the Rollin 60’s and they literally grew up with Nipsey Hussle. The most unique thing that occurred was that while my kids were growing up in two different directions in that street and gang life, Nipsey seemed to have his own focus in music and seemed to be determined to make something out of his talent selling his CD’s out of the trunk of his car along with incense, t-shirts, DVDs and whatever else he could hustle. And what made him such a good hustler was that he kept his focus on his goal to ultimately be a successful artist. I watched his growth and development and throughout his journey he was always looking out for the common individual as he made his climb to the top. He never thought more highly of himself above others he was always helping folk no matter who it was. He really loved his people and this was not lost on the community as we all were heart broken when his life was tragically cut short the other day. The entire neighborhood came out to pay their respects to him because of the love they had for him and all that he had accomplished. And as I’m writing this piece right now there are literally hundreds of people still continuing to flock around the clock at the shopping plaza that he owned where his clothing store The Marathon is located on Crenshaw and Slauson (where he was gunned down) and leaving flowers and tributes. He truly left his mark in the hood as he was employing local folk to work in his store and what people are really asleep on is the fact that he was evolving into a very conscious person developing more knowledge, wisdom and understanding. And as much as it is difficult to accept, knowing him personally like I did, I have to remind myself and others who believe that God is the greatest and it is he at the end of the day that we all have to answer to. I sincerely pray that Allah (God) will bless him with peace in paradise, forgive him of his sins, and reward him for all the good he did on this earth. Mohammed Mubarak can be reached at qmubarak06@aol.com for your comments. He’s an artist as well and you may go to mubarakart.com and or qmubarak06 on instagram and view his works.<doc-sep>Rap fans across the world are mourning Nipsey Hussle. The 33-year-old Los Angeles rapper, born Ermias Asghedom, was shot and killed on Sunday in front of his clothing store in L.A., per NBC. Listeners, both loyal and casual, have shared their condolences and feelings of disbelief since news of his death began to spread. Artists like Drake, Rihanna and Pharrell Williams have all paid tribute to the late rapper. “You were about something positive and for your community in every chance you had to speak,” Pharrell wrote on Twitter. While Asghedom was just as well known for his philanthropic and entrepreneurial efforts, it was his music that laid the groundwork for his career. He released his first project, Slauson Boy Vol. 1, in 2005. His last album, Victory Lap, was released in 2018 after years of anticipation. The wait seemed to pay off: Asghedom earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album at this year’s Grammy Awards. “I was trying to make progress with every release,” the rapper told Rolling Stone earlier this year. From the first project to his last, and all the loosies in between, these are the ten songs that best represent Nipsey Hussle’s legacy. “Hussle in the House” (Bullets Ain’t Got No Name Vol. 2) Nipsey Hussle’s “Hussle in the House” is one of the rapper’s first known singles. It’s a West Coast take on Kriss Kross’s “Jump,” sans the adorably childish raps. In fact, this song has the opposite purpose. The first words out Nipsey’s mouth—“I’m coming straight out of Slauson, a crazy motherfucker named Nipsey”—tie directly back to NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton,” a song made to unnerve. The tone Nipsey sets here, of cunning street prowess and budding business interests, is one that would reflect his career as an artist. “Killer” feat. Drake (loosie; compiled on Nip Hussle the Great: Vol 1) “Killer,” released circa 2009, is a song that Nipsey Hussle’s day-one fans will remember. While this hidden gem of a loosie never appeared on an official project, it was later compiled on Nip Hussle the Great: Vol 1. It’s also notable for featuring a rising star named Drake, who was riding on the high of his breakout mixtape, So Far Gone, at the time. “We just linked for the first time in years and said we were gonna do a new song this summer cause it had been too long,” Drake wrote on Instagram Sunday, following news of Nipsey’s death. “Blue Laces” (The Marathon) In one of his most honest tracks, Nipsey exposed his listeners to the beleaguered life he had grown accustomed to. All three of the song’s verses feature reality checks that make you rethink your own humanity, but it’s the final verse that reveals what Nipsey was really about: “They think we on some ‘kill another nigga’ shit/We really on some stay down and diligent.” Nipsey would later revamp the song for Victory Lap as “Blue Laces 2.” “Keys 2 the City” (The Marathon) Nipsey Hussle was a hometown hero, as evidenced by the intense support of his local fans, as well as the myriad of investments he made in Los Angeles. That’s one reason that The Marathon’s “Keys 2 the City” became a larger-than-life record for Nipsey and the city that made him. “Forever on Some Fly Shit” (The Marathon Continues) The Marathon Continues was released in 2011, which was the tail end of the blog-rap era. L.A.-based producers THC chef’d up a breezy banger for the project, “Forever on Some Fly S**t” — it sounds like something Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y might have floated over, had it come their way instead. “Me Spitta and Nip was all sleepin on couches when we linked up,” Wiz tweeted after he heard of Nipsey’s passing. “This shit got me super sad.” “Go Long” (Crenshaw) On his expertly marketed $100 mixtape, Crenshaw, Nipsey ventured outside of his usual collaborators. The most unexpected, but perfectly executed, partnership came with “Go Long,” featuring Houston rap legends Slim Thug and Z-Ro. Nipsey, Slim Thug, and Z-Ro all operate from a place of steadfast self-sufficiency, so this collaboration made more sense than one might initially think. “Fuck Donald Trump” (YG single) Compton rapper YG took a three-word phrase that many in the U.S. had been muttering under their breath, and turned it into an anthem. DJ Swish’s production makes for a muted menace, giving YG and his frequent collaborator Nipsey Hussle a perfect platform to flip their figurative birds at the then-presidential candidate. After years of working together, they were due for a hit, and “FDT” was the one. “Rap Niggas” (Victory Lap) Nipsey Hussle has never been “nothing like you fucking rap niggas,” and he made a whole song to tell you how and why. Before his death, Hussle had been working on an unduplicated business strategy that applied to him and him only. His trajectory, as a result, was like no one else’s. “Hussle and Motivate” (Victory Lap) The production for “Hussle and Motivate,” handled by a sprawling assemblage of Nipsey Hussle’s favorite producers, sounds unlike anything else in the rapper’s discography. DO Speaks, Street Symphony, Brody Brown, Larrance Dopson, and Mike N Keys took a sacred East Coast production — JAY-Z’s “Hard Knock Life”—and turned it into a monster of a beat that inches and crawls along Nipsey’s beloved West Coast. “Racks in the Middle” “Racks in the Middle” was Nipsey Hussle’s last single. It doesn’t sound like much of his discography, which largely relies on banging West Coast drums and intimidating synths. Instead, Nipsey leans on featured artist Roddy Rich and producer Hit-Boy for a more radio-friendly sound. In it, though, he brings his trademark radical honesty to the track when he addresses a dead friend: “Damn, I wish my nigga Fatts was here/How you die thirty somethin’ after banging all them years?/Grammy nominated, in the sauna sheddin’ tears/All this money, power, fame and I can’t make you reappear.” This unexpected bending of his musical approach was a marker of Nipsey’s growth, which was still continuing up until his early, tragic death.<doc-sep>On Sunday afternoon, Los Angeles-based rapper Nipsey Hussle was shot and killed in front of his Marathon Clothing store. The murder shook waves in the hip-hop community with many people sending messages sending their condolences via social media. Nipsey wasn’t just a rapper, he was a huge influence in the community buying out property in the neighborhood where he grew up and creating opportunities for black men and women in the Crenshaw community. The Golden State Warriors found a way to show some love for the fallen rapper by playing and dancing along to his song “The Last Time I Checc’d” from his critically acclaimed “Victory Lap” album from last year. There is no word on who killed Nipsey yet, but two other people were hurt in the shooting. You can check out the video below.<doc-sep>
The idea of being self-made and giving back to the community was ingrained in LA rapper Nipsey Hussle – real name Ermias Davidson Asghedom – from the beginning. In an early interview with Hard Knock TV, a fresh-faced Nipsey revealed he’d rather invest in real estate than jewellery. “Invest in some assets rather than liabilities like diamonds and cars!” he urged his fans, looking right down the barrel of the camera. “A real asset should take care of your people. Material things ain’t nothing; they are fuelled by insecurity.” This level of self-awareness was refreshing, particularly for an artist who grew up amid an L.A. rap scene built on egotistical references to shiny low riders and gold Death Row Records chains. Sure, the raw aesthetic of Nipsey’s music and his gruff vocal delivery both represented West Coast gangster rap at its purest, wearing influences such as Above The Law, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube openly, but while those artists often painted bleak pictures of their communities, Nipsey’s underlying message was always one of hope, and this is what made his voice so powerful. His death yesterday (March 31) at 33 years of age has sent shockwaves through hip-hop. On the track ‘Love’, from potent early mixtape ‘The Marathon’, he raps: “Showed my mother I’m a gangbang graduate / Pioneered the transition from this crippin’ wasn’t easy / But I mastered it / Built my own lane / Ain’t no nigga ever hand me shit!” This track perhaps best represented Nipsey Hussle’s mission statement as a rapper — his existence was about showing working class black youth that they could grow beyond their area code and achieve enduring success. After all, being a Crip from Crenshaw never held Nipsey back, so why should a humble beginning prevent anyone else from fulfilling their dreams? The blistering pace at which Nipsey Hussle released this decade’s classic mixtapes – via his All Money In label – has only really been equalled by Future and Gucci Mane. He effortlessly dropped sun-drenched banger after banger, with tracks such as ‘Checc Me Out’, ‘Count Up That Loot; and ‘Forever On Some Fly Shit’ (on the latter he prophetically talks about his own death, rapping, “Murder is a fact when you out here in the field”) becoming anthems in the street even if radio spins eluded them. He achieved all this with a pioneering understanding of business that showed a whole generation of indie rappers – from Macklemore to Chance The Rapper – that they didn’t necessarily need a label to make money or grow their personal brand. Take the release strategy for his 2013 mixtape ‘Crenshaw’. Nipsey sold a limited run of 1,000 copies at $100, winning admirers such as Jay-Z, another drug dealer turned rap entrepreneur, who was impressed by the rapper’s hustle and subsequently became a close friend. His next mixtape, ‘Mailbox Money’, saw Nipsey release 100 copies, each with a price tag of $1,000. Once again, every single copy sold out. This business acumen extended beyond music, too, with an entrepreneurial Nipsey owning various shops and restaurants across Los Angeles’ inner city, employing homeless people at many of these establishments in order to give them a second chance. He was famous locally for his generosity, once buying a pair of sneakers for every student at the 59th Street Elementary School and donating money to renovate the school’s playground and basketball courts. The city of Los Angeles hadn’t seen a rapper this generous since Tupac Shakur. He was shot to death outside his Marathon clothing store in Crenshaw, which is just a stone’s throw from the ‘hood where Nipsey grew up. It’s unclear whether the LAPD have any suspects for the shooting, with Mark Ridley-Thomas, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors who represents the southern part of the city, poignantly stating: “Our communities have lost too many young men and bright futures to the scourge of gun violence. For healing to occur, even from this terrible incident, justice must be sought through legal means, and community peace must be found.” Not even a year has passed since fellow rapper XXXTentacion was also shot to death, with an ugly recklessness creeping back into hip-hop culture, as artists put themselves at risk by riding a wave of violence and controversy to get trending and onto the charts.