On Sunday, Grammy-nominated rapper, community philanthropist and entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle was shot and killed outside of his Los Angeles clothing store.
As a Los Angeles resident, I can’t even begin to describe what he meant to this city. But a host of friends, fans and collaborators of South Central’s own have taken to social media to express how much he meant to each of them.
“Wow. I don’t even know what to say,” Diddy wrote on Twitter. “I’m confused. Nipsey and I had just started really getting to know each other. I feel honored to have worked on his project. Nipsey represents change, he represents evolution, he represents everything our culture needs to embrace.”
Prior to taking the stage last night at Lollapalooza Argentina, fellow California native Kendrick Lamar paid tribute to his fallen friend by requesting a moment of silence.
“Before we got on stage, we got wind that our brother, our warrior, our soldier Nipsey Hussle passed away,” Lamar told the shocked crowd. “We wanna take this time-out, truly, to give a moment of silence. Can we do that?”
“Watching Nipsey inspired me to invest and own in our communities,” Insecure star Issa tweeted. “He was a solid man who loved his woman, his family and his community. This hurts.”
“If we really want to honor Nipsey don’t just play his music,” rapper and activist Immortal Technique wrote on Twitter. “Live by the best examples he was trying to give people. Change yourself for the better, better your community. Finish that documentary. Continue to exist and fight back. Peace & Respect.”
The Los Angeles Clippers paid their respects with a video tribute prior to tip-off against the Memphis Grizzlies:
And by displaying a jersey and a pair of sneakers inside their locker room.
Trans activist Raquel Willis wrote about “the complexity of mourning people with anti-LGBTQ+ pasts” for Out Magazine, while also taking the time to publicly express her condolences.
“People are complex. People are flawed,” she tweeted. “My heart still automatically breaks when another Black person senselessly has their life stolen.”
The most emotional reaction came from Compton rapper The Game, who shared his disgust and frustration with “the streets” that stole Nipsey’s life.
“Over here driving down Slauson, man. At 4 in the morning because I can’t sleep behind what happened to Nip, man,” he vented, clearly shaken. “Why niggas do the homie like that, man? At his own motherfucking spot. In his own fucking hood, man. Just trying to do good for niggas, man. Shit crazy, man. I can even fucking sleep. I’m disgusted by this shit. That’s how ya’ll do the homie?”
While no arrests have been made yet, authorities believe the murder was carried out by someone Nipsey knew.
The rapper, entrepreneur and community activist is survived by his two children, Kross and Emani Asghedom, and his fiancée, model and actress Lauren London.