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Page 6 The Skanner Portland & Seattle July 13, 2022
Arts & Entertainment
By JONATHAN
LANDRUM Jr. AP Enter-
tainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP)
— Even though Nipsey
Hussle
was
gunned
down outside a Los An-
geles clothing store three
years ago, the sting of his
death remains fresh for
those who revered the
widely beloved rapper
and community activist.
Several paid homage to
Hussle’s positive influ-
ence during a murder tri-
al that ended Wednesday
with a conviction for his
killing. Some shed tears.
One of his closest friends
regrets being unable to
protect Hussle. A wit-
ness battles with ongoing
nightmares as if Hussle’s
fatal shooting happened
“
such a big figure in our
community. Nipsey was
tight. He was hard.”
Rapper Rick Ross said
Hussle is admired “more
than ever” these days
for his forward-thinking
mentality as an entre-
preneur and teaching
through his thought-pro-
voking rap lyrics.
“He’s a legend, poet,”
said Ross, who has a tat-
too of Hussle’s face on his
leg. “I loved him as a em-
cee when I first met him
over a decade ago. I’m
just happy to see the mar-
athon still continues.”
Hussle’s death
Hussle, who was born
Ermias Asghedom, was
shot and killed at age 33
on March 31, 2019, in the
parking lot outside his
store, The Marathon.
I feel like we’ll never forget
the work that he put in and
everything that he did for
the community
yesterday. Some in the
hip-hop community still
look to his rap lyrics for
teachable moments.
Like Hussle’s popular
catchphrase “The Mar-
athon Continues,” the
memory of his impactful
legacy is still at the fore-
front of many people’s
minds.
“I feel like we’ll never
forget the work that he
put in and everything
that he did for the com-
munity,” said Slim Jxm-
mi of the rap group Rae
Sremmurd in a recent in-
terview. “That’s why he’s
Eric R. Holder Jr., was
found guilty Wednesday
of the first-degree mur-
der of the Grammy win-
ner, who was on track
to revitalize a South Los
Angeles neighborhood
where he grew up and
was eventually gunned
down. Hussle and Hold-
er had known each other
for years and grew up
as members of the same
gang, the Rollin’ 60s.
Holder was also con-
victed on two counts of
attempted
voluntary
manslaughter and two
counts of assault with a
firearm. He will be sen-
tenced Sept. 15.
The verdict might have
ended a three-year legal
saga, but the nearly four-
week trial resurfaced old
emotions and admiration
for Hussle.
“It shook me up,”
said Christian Johnson
during his tearful tes-
timony. He was inside a
burger restaurant near
Hussle’s clothing store
during the shooting. In
security footage shown
in court, Johnson can
be seen ducking under-
neath a red table after
hearing gunshots.
When Johnson stood
up and peeked into the
parking lot, he saw Hus-
sle’s body on the ground.
“I dream about it every
night,” said Johnson, who
broke down in tears. He
viewed himself as a huge
fan of Hussle’s work and
had thought about ap-
proaching him for a pho-
to before the shooting. “I
walked outside and saw
Nipsey laying there. That
could’ve been me.”
Former gang member
Herman “Cowboy” Doug-
las, who worked at The
Marathon, said Hussle’s
death still feels raw. He
carries some guilt over
the rapper who was like a
“little brother” to him.
“I feel regret that I left
his side,” said Douglas,
who overheard the initial
conversation
between
Hussle and Holder. He
was inside the clothing
store when he heard the
gunshots.
“I should’ve never left
his side,” he continued. “I
did not see this coming.
AP PHOTO/CHRIS PIZZELLO
Nipsey Hussle’s Legacy Inspires 3 Years After His Murder
A motorist drives past a street mural of the late rapper Nipsey Hussle, Thursday, June 30, 2022, in
downtown Los Angeles. The many murals of Hussle around Los Angeles speak to the late rapper’s lasting
legacy.
No way, no how.”
His legacy
In honor of Hussle,
Douglas had a mural of
the rapper painted out-
side his restaurant in Los
Angeles. Countless other
murals of Hussle have
popped up along busy
highways, on the sides
of buildings and inside a
“
for his work ethic as
he slung CDs. He spent
years winning a devot-
ed following through
mixtapes and under-
ground releases. He
broke through with his
first major-label album,
eventually earning two
posthumous Grammys in
2020.
Throughout Los Ange-
As a community, we move
forward from this, we move
forward in the tradition of
the Marathon
school basketball court
in the city.
Hussle, whose nick-
name is a play on a fa-
mous 1970s comedian,
was given the moniker
les, Hussle was a beloved
figure for his philan-
thropic work that went
well beyond the usual
celebrity “giving back”
ethos. He purchased the
strip mall where The
Marathon is located and
planned to redevelop it
into a mixed-use com-
mercial and residential
complex.
The plan was part of
Hussle’s broader am-
bitions to remake the
neighborhood where he
grew up and attempt to
break the cycle of gang
life that pulled him in
when he was younger.
The Los Angeles City
Council is expected to re-
name the intersection of
Crenshaw Boulevard and
Slauson Avenue “Nipsey
Hussle Square.”
After Hussle’s death,
an unexpected cease-fire
developed between some
rival gang members. In
May, his family held the
grand opening of The
Marathon Collective, a
cannabis dispensary in
Canoga Park, California.
During the trial, Dep-
uty District Attorney
John McKinney showed
a photo of a shrine ded-
icated to Hussle out-
side his clothing store.
Among the candles and
other tributes was a St.
Louis Cardinals baseball
cap, which gang expert
Robert Freeman says
was worn by the Black P
Stones, a Blood-affiliat-
ed gang that were fierce
longtime rivals of Hus-
sle’s Rollin’ 60s Crips.
“He was loved by the
Bloods and the Crips,”
Freeman said.
McKinney said after
the verdict that Hussle
will never be forgotten.
“As a community, we
move forward from this,
we move forward in the
tradition of the Mara-
thon,” he said. “We move
forward in the tradition
of young people who
are in a situation that
Nipsey might have been
in 15 years ago can look
to his life as an example
of how they can get out of
that situation and get to a
place where dreams are
made.”
Dr. Marcelitte
Failla
Chiropractic
Physician
503-228-6140
1000 NE 122nd Ave, Suite 211
Portland, OR 97230
faillas@hotmail.com
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