It got him a Grammy nomination, though he lost out to Cardi B’s “Invasion of Privacy.” 4 on Billboard’s 200 albums charts and featured collaborations with Kendrick Lamar and CeeLo Green. Last year he hit new heights with “Victory Lap,” his critically acclaimed major-label debut album on Atlantic Records that made several critics’ best-of lists. He charged $100 for his 2013 mixtape “Crenshaw,” scoring a cash and publicity coup when Jay-Z bought 100 copies for $10,000. Hussle said his stage name, a play on the 1960s and ’70s rhyming standup comic Nipsey Russell, was given to him as a teen by an older friend because he was such a go-getter - always hustling.įor a decade, he released much sought-after mixtapes that he sold out of the trunk of his car, helping him create a buzz and gain respect from rap purists and his peers. It was like living in a war zone, where people die on these blocks and everybody is a little bit immune to it.” “I grew up in gang culture,” Hussle told the Los Angeles Times in 2018. He said he got involved in street life as he tried to support himself, and he joined the gang Rollin 60′s Neighborhood Crips as a teenager. 15, 1985, Hussle said his first passion was music but getting resources was tough after leaving his mother’s house at 14 to live with his grandmother. He loved us,” film director Ava Duvernay tweeted. “I’ll remember the beauty that he saw in our community. His hip-hop friends and other stars, including Rihanna and Snoop Dogg, mourned on social media, with many pointing out his particular role in uplifting African Americans. Hussle, whose real name was Ermias Asghedom, was an Eritrean-American father of two who was engaged to actress Lauren London. Los Angeles Police Commissioner Steve Soboroff tweeted that he and Police Chief Michel Moore had agreed to meet with Hussle on Monday to talk about ways to stop gang violence. Two other men standing near Hussle were shot and wounded. Police did not reveal a motive or publicly identify any suspects. He persevered, he stayed in, he never gave up.” The effort took him to a whole other level “where he ended up owning property on the same corner.”Īn autopsy performed Monday found that Hussle’s death was a homicide, caused by bullet wounds to the head and torso. “They didn’t think that this would work out and look what happened. A lot of people like him don’t come around often.”ĭenise Francis Woods, a neighborhood resident who is running for City Council, remembered when Hussle used to sell his demo tapes on street corners in the neighborhood for $5. “A lot of people who get rich don’t come back here,” he said. “Someone changed history yesterday,” he said, referring to the gunman.Ĭoleman commended the rapper for trying to uplift his own community first instead of simply going elsewhere. Others yelled, “Long live Nipsey.”ĭontae Coleman, 28, who lives in the neighborhood, fell to his knees and cried and called Hussle “a legend.” Many mourners pulled out their phones to document the scene. Two other injuries were serious and 15 were considered non-life threatening. At least one of the critically-injured persons was struck by a car and the other one had a “penetrating injury,” although it’s unclear whether that person was stabbed or cut by broken glass. Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore is scheduled to hold a news conference Tuesday morning to provide updates on the investigation.ĭetails about Holder were released shortly after 19 people were taken to local hospitals - two in critical condition - after a vigil for Hussle turned violent Monday night. No additional details about him were released. Police are asking for the public’s help in finding Holder. Police said they believe Holder fled the scene in a 2016 Chevy Cruze that was waiting in an adjacent alley and was driven by an unidentified woman. Police said late Monday that they are searching for Eric Holder, 29, who they said in a news release is suspecting of fatally shooting Hussle and wounding two others Sunday afternoon. LOS ANGELES (AP) - Los Angeles police say they have identified a man suspected of gunning down Nipsey Hussle outside his clothing store the rapper hoped would be a catalyst for reviving the impoverished Los Angeles community where he grew up.