A Letter to Neighborhood Nip.
(Starts playing Loaded Bases ft. Cee-Lo Green by Nipsey Hussle from Victory Lap)
We lost a superhero this past weekend. His name was/is Nipsey Hussle. Hussle Man.
It goes without saying that I did not personally know the man. However, I, like millions of Hip-Hop/Rap fans world wide, knew and love(d) Nipsey. As a 30 year old Nigerian American man, generationally, I was really a fan of Neighborhood Nip. From Bullets Ain’t Got No Names to The Marathon to TMC to Crenshaw to Mailbox Money to Victory Lap, Nipsey has paved such a legendary lane not only within a very competitive west coast hip-hop scene but the culture at large, globally. I can’t help but think of the generational class of West Coast artist that Nip worked with over the years from Kendrick Lamar to YG, Dom Kennedy, OverDoz, Hit-Boy, DJ Mustard to Buddy. Nipsey is an absolute staple in modern West Coast Hip-Hop music. This is not to negate the love Nip got in the the East/ New York (where he shot some of his Rap Niggas music video) and Philly from artist like Dave East and Meek Mill. As a “street rapper”, Nipsey was way more dynamic as an artist than many other artist that the industry continued to promote more than him. Still, in 2018, Nipsey followed through and delivered his opus Victory Lap and proceeded to take his Victory Lap from All Star Weekend to The Grammys. He not only followed through in real life but also thematically and artistically with the theme he set almost a decade ago back in 2010 between The Marathon mixtape and the Victory Lap album. The path has always been a consistent, well paced forward journey and never a sprint. This is what makes something classic and timeless. Another layer is the message in the music of critiquing gang culture through the lens of existing in an impoverished, racist, capitalist city, state and country.
For a brother like me, Nipsey Hussle was a constant source of inspiration. An Eritrean American rapper from LA with bars that held so much integrity and realism. I can’t think of the culture moving on from his lose without taking real inventory of what he contributed and showed us all within such a short span of time. Nipsey came on the scene with a gold, ice-ed out Malcolm X chain in a way that no other rap artist has done before. Nipsey made sure to distinguish himself. His entrepreneurship was next level. From investing and rebuilding in local real estate in his hood to cryptocurrency, documentaries on Dr. Sebi and business incubators like Vector 90. Nipsey showed a very forward thinking and dynamic business acumen.
Victory Lap is Nipsey at his absolute prime and it’s a shame he was taken from his family and friends at the peak of his rise in cultural, music and business stature. I can’t help but feel like this is what people of 2Pac’s generation felt when he passed, except for all the spectacle of a manufactured coastal “beef” between rappers. Nipsey’s passing truly makes no sense other than it came from the hands of pure evil and jealousy that Nipsey never deserved. This evil is not unique to America, the country that is historically known for devouring its most prolific and prophetic citizens.
My two biggest, lingering thoughts about the way he passed are how his killer was not only part of the same “gang” but that he was technically the same “skin-folk” but obviously not kin-folk. The self hate is so real in this situation. It’s something that Meek Mill has talked a lot about in regards to the black female judge who sent him to jail for popping a wheelie. In the song “Gringing All My Life” Nipsey raps, “Damn right, I like the life I built/ I'm from west side, 60, shit, I might got killed.” Nipsey knows his life is not promised in such a violent area but still is rightfully prideful for building a positive business infrastructure where his family, friends and neighborhood can thrive at. The line gives me chills in light of his passing. This is always what makes Russell Westbrook’s triple double of (20, 20, 21) so epic and meaningful as tribute to Nip. As Russell said after the game, “That’s for Nipsey, man. 20 plus 20 plus 20, they know what that means.”
I pray they resurrect a statue in his owner and continue his visionary legacy of revamping his neglected neighborhood while empowering the people to strive for better.
Long Live Neighborhood Nip.
Nipsey Hussle, Ermias Joseph Asghedommay, may your legacy and blueprint last forever.
Much love. RIP.