Nipsey Hussle

Ermias Joseph Asghedom (born Airmiess Joseph Asghedom; August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019), known professionally as Nipsey Hussle, was an American rapper, activist, and entrepreneur. Emerging from the West Coast hip-hop scene in the mid-2000s, Hussle self-released his debut mixtape, Slauson Boy Volume 1, to moderate local success, leading him to sign with Cinematic Music Group and Epic Records.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Hussle gained a regional following for his Bullets Ain't Got No Name mixtape series, as well as The Marathon, The Marathon Continues, and Crenshaw, the latter of which was purchased 100 times by American rapper Jay-Z for US$100 each. After multiple delays, his debut studio album Victory Lap (2018), peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200, received critical acclaim, and was nominated for the Best Rap Album at the 61st Grammy Awards. His 2019 single, "Racks in the Middle" (featuring Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy), and guest appearance alongside John Legend on DJ Khaled's song "Higher", won Best Rap Performance and Best Rap/Sung Performance, respectively at the 62nd Grammy Awards.

Outside of music, Hussle inaugurated the Marathon Clothing store, which he founded along with partners Carless, the head of the agency, Karen Civil, and his brother Samiel Asghedom in 2017, and started a co-working environment which he named "Vector 90". On March 31, 2019, Hussle was fatally shot outside his store in South Central Los Angeles. Eric Holder, a 29-year-old man who confronted Hussle earlier that day, was arrested and charged with murder two days later. Holder was found guilty of first-degree murder on July 6, 2022. On February 22, 2023, Holder was sentenced to 60 years to life in prison.

Airmiess Joseph Asghedom was born on August 15, 1985, and raised in the Crenshaw District of South Central Los Angeles by his mother Angelique Smith (née Boutte), a Black-American, and Dawit Asghedom, an Eritrean who came to Los Angeles in the 1970s. He was raised with his brother Samiel, also known as Blacc Sam, and his sister Samantha. Asghedom attended Alexander Hamilton High School in the nearby Castle Heights neighborhood, and dropped out before graduating.

At age 14, Asghedom left home and joined the local Rollin' 60s Neighborhood Crips, a sub-group ("set") of the larger Crips gang primarily based in his home neighborhood of Crenshaw. In 2002, at the age of 17, Hussle joined Buttervision, a creative multimedia Digital Guerrilla movement led by Dexter Browne where he was part of the BV Boys Sampler, Beats & Babes Vol. 1 DVD, and Shades of Butter Vol. 1 DVD. During that time, he completed the recording for his debut mixtape Slauson Boy Volume 1, and adopted his stage name "Nipsey Hussle".

His stage name, a play on the name of comedian and game show panelist Nipsey Russell, originated as a nickname given to Asghedom by a childhood acquaintance who respected his work ethic. In 2004, when Asghedom was 19, his father took him and his brother Samiel on a three-month trip to Eritrea. Asghedom credited the trip with inspiring him to become a community activist with an "entrepreneurial spirit".

In December 2005, Hussle independently released his first mixtape, Slauson Boy Volume 1, to moderate local success. His debut project helped to build a small regional fanbase on the West Coast, and eventually led to Hussle being signed to Cinematic Music Group and Epic Records. In 2006, he appeared as a featured performer on the final posthumous album by 2Pac, Pac's Life. In 2008, Hussle released the first two installments in his Bullets Ain't Got No Name series of mixtapes, which helped to bring Hussle's music to a larger audience.

Nipsey's profile continued to grow into 2009 when he collaborated with Drake on the song "Killer", and also appeared, along with Snoop Dogg and Problem, on the song "Upside Down", from Snoop Dogg's 2009 album Malice n Wonderland. He released the third installment in Bullets Ain't Got No Name, as well as his commercial debut single, "Hussle in the House". Despite the song, which samples Kris Kross' 1992 single Jump, being well received by critics, it failed to make any impact on the charts.

After Epic experienced financial issues in 2010, Nipsey opted not to renew his contract and left the label. Not long after going independent, Hussle appeared on the song "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", and was featured by XXL Magazine as one of its "Annual Freshman Top Ten", a selection of ten up-and-coming hip-hop artists to watch. XXL labeled him "Most Determined" of his class, and LA Weekly called him the "next big L.A. MC".

Hussle was expected to release his debut album, South Central State of Mind, in October 2010. Prior to release, the album was supported by the single "Feelin' Myself" featuring Lloyd. While the production was set to be handled from J.R. Rotem, Scott Storch, Mr. Lee, Play-N-Skillz, Terrace Martin, and 1500 or Nothin', the album was set to be featured with the guest appearances from Trey Songz, Jay Rock, and Sean Kingston. Concurrently, he announced that he planned on releasing a mixtape with fellow rapper Jay Rock, titled Red and Blue Make Green. Following the release of a music video for "Feelin' Myself", the album was set for a December 21, 2010 release; however, both of these projects were eventually postponed indefinitely.

After leaving Epic, Nipsey founded his own record label, All Money In Records. On December 21, 2010, he released his first All Money In Records mixtape, titled The Marathon, which featured guest appearances from Kokane and MGMT. On November 1, 2011, Hussle released a sequel titled The Marathon Continues, which featured L.A. rappers YG and Dom Kennedy. On April 17, 2012, Hussle released a collaborative album with fellow rapper Blanco, Raw. The album featured guest appearances from YG, Mistah FAB, Yukmouth, B-Legit, Kokane and Freeway.

Hussle's nickname came from his entrepreneurial spirit. He shined shoes for $2.50 to pay for school clothes at age 11 with a goal of a hundred shoes a day. Hussle sold his mixtapes out of a car trunk at a neighborhood strip mall at the intersection of Slauson Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard. After leaving Epic Records, he founded his own record label. Hussle experimented with unorthodox sales strategies by selling expensive copies of certain mixtapes even while the songs were distributed for free.

Hussle's Marathon branding inspired Steve Carless in 2013 when he founded Marathon Agency with business partners Karen Civil and Jorge Peniche. They designed the talent-based brand to attract a diverse set of clients in all stages of their careers. In October 2016, Carless, the head of the agency, told Billboard that Hussle had invested "like over six figures" in the Marathon Agency and described him as "kind of like our silent partner".

Hussle opened the Marathon Clothing store on June 17, 2017, which he founded along with partners Carless, Civil, and his brother Samiel Asghedom. Opening the store at this intersection in the Crenshaw commercial district was important to him because he wanted to invest and provide opportunities in his neighborhood of Hyde Park. The store is billed as a "smart store", which bridges the gap between culture and technology by giving customers access to exclusive music and other content created by rappers through an app created by software engineer Iddris Sandu. The year before his death, Hussle bought the small shopping center where his store was located, after partnering with the real estate investor David Gross.

Hussle created the record label All Money In after leaving Epic Records. He released his first major project, The Marathon, through the new label on December 21, 2010. He released subsequent projects under his label, including The Marathon Continues (2011), Crenshaw (2013), and Mailbox Money (2014). He also signed other artists, including J Stone, Pacman Da Gunman, BH, Cobby Supreme, Cuzzy Capone and Killa Twan.

In 2007, Hussle played a small role in Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's semi-autobiographical film I Tried, which was directed by Rich Newey. In 2010, he starred in the film Caged Animal, alongside Ving Rhames, Gillie Da Kid and Robert Patrick. In 2015, Hussle was featured in a cameo "The Sexy Getting Ready Song" in the pilot episode of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, rapping two bars.

Hussle wanted to focus on "giving solutions and inspiration" to young black men like himself. He denounced gun violence through his music, influence, and community work. He spoke openly about his experiences with gang culture. Affiliated with the Rollin' 60s, he often performed and worked with rival Bloods-affiliated rappers to set an example.

He funded improvements to neighborhood schools and spent time with students, also participating on panels about growing up in the area and the influence of gang culture. Hussle started a co-working environment which he named Vector 90. From his own experience, he believed that the Crenshaw area was being underserved and that young people would benefit from communal workspaces. He wanted youths to be able to take classes in science, technology, and mathematics at the center.

Hussle was also intimately involved in the planning and advisory stages of the Destination Crenshaw project that will showcase the history and culture of black people in his neighborhood. City Council member Marqueece Harris-Dawson said Hussle was in the earliest conversations on the project and was an integral part of the project's branding. In March 2019, Hussle had contacted officials from the LAPD to arrange a meeting with him and Roc Nation about what they could do to help prevent gang violence in South Los Angeles. The meeting had been scheduled to take place on April 1.

Hussle was murdered on March 31. According to Los Angeles Police Commissioner Steve Soboroff, department officials would meet with Hussle's representatives at a future date on these issues to continue the activist's work in his honor.

Hussle and actress Lauren London began dating in 2013. They had a son together in 2016. London has a child from a previous relationship with fellow rapper Lil Wayne, while Hussle had a daughter from a previous relationship. He remained very involved in South Los Angeles with his businesses, charitable activities, and the homes of family and friends. The locations for a magazine shoot were in the neighborhood.

On March 31, 2019, at 3:18 p.m, Hussle was shot at least 10 times in the parking lot of his store, Marathon Clothing, in Park Mesa Heights, Los Angeles. The perpetrator also kicked Hussle in the head. Two others were wounded in the shooting.

All three victims were transported to a hospital, where Hussle was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. He was 33 years old. Police identified then-29-year-old Eric Ronald Holder Jr. as the suspect. Investigators believed Holder was known to the rapper and that the shooting was possibly motivated by a personal matter. On April 2, 2019, Holder was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department and was held in solitary confinement.

On May 9, a grand jury indicted Holder on one count of murder, two counts each of attempted murder and assault with a firearm, and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. After several postponements, the trial began in mid-June 2022. Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney John McKinney served as the case's prosecutor, while Aaron Jansen served as head of the defense. Holder's attorneys argued that he did not intend to kill Hussle but had acted in the heat of the moment. McKinney argued, "He thought about it and he did it. That's all premeditated means. It doesn't mean he planned it for weeks". Testimony at the trial established that, immediately before Holder shot Hussle, the two men argued over a rumor that Holder had cooperated with law enforcement in an unrelated matter. On July 6, 2022, Holder was found guilty of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter relating to injuries he caused to bystanders. On February 22, 2023, Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke II sentenced Holder to 60 years in prison.

Hussle's brother, Samiel Asghedom, was appointed the permanent administrator of his estate.

Upon hearing the news of his death, celebrities offered their condolences on social media. Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti also offered his condolences to Hussle's family.