Nipsey Hussle

Nipsey Hussle was the professional name of Ermias Joseph Asghedom, born Airmiess Joseph Asghedom on August 15, 1985, in Los Angeles. He was an American rapper, activist, and entrepreneur who emerged from the West Coast hip-hop scene in the mid-2000s. Raised in the Crenshaw District of South Central Los Angeles, he came up in a city and music culture where local reputation mattered, and he built his name first through independent releases and neighborhood support.

Hussle was raised by his mother, Angelique Smith, an African-American, and his father, Dawit Asghedom, an Eritrean who came to Los Angeles in the 1970s. He grew up with his brother Samiel, also known as Blacc Sam, and his sister Samantha. He attended Alexander Hamilton High School in the nearby Castle Heights neighborhood, but dropped out before graduating. At 14, he left home and joined the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips, a set of the larger Crips gang based primarily in Crenshaw. At 17, he joined Buttervision, a creative multimedia Digital Guerrilla movement led by Dexter Browne, and appeared in its DVD projects while completing the recording of his debut mixtape, Slauson Boy Volume 1.

His stage name was a play on the name of comedian and game show panelist Nipsey Russell, and began as a nickname from a childhood acquaintance who respected his work ethic. That sense of work became central to his public image. In 2004, when he was 19, his father took him and Samiel on a three-month trip to Eritrea. Hussle later credited that trip with inspiring him to become a community activist with an “entrepreneurial spirit,” a phrase that fits the way he moved between music, business, and neighborhood projects.

In December 2005, Hussle independently released Slauson Boy Volume 1 to moderate local success, helping him build a small regional fanbase and leading to deals with Cinematic Music Group and Epic Records. He appeared on 2Pac’s final posthumous album, Pac’s Life, in 2006, then expanded his audience with the Bullets Ain’t Got No Name mixtape series in 2008 and 2009. He collaborated with Drake on “Killer,” appeared with Snoop Dogg and Problem on “Upside Down,” and released “Hussle in the House.” After leaving Epic in 2010, he founded All Money In Records and released The Marathon, followed by The Marathon Continues. His 2013 mixtape Crenshaw drew wide attention when Jay-Z bought 100 copies for $100 each.

After multiple delays, Hussle’s debut studio album, Victory Lap, arrived in 2018. It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200, received critical acclaim, and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 61st Grammy Awards. His 2019 single “Racks in the Middle,” featuring Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy, won Best Rap Performance at the 62nd Grammy Awards, and his guest appearance with John Legend on DJ Khaled’s “Higher” won Best Rap/Sung Performance. Outside music, he opened the Marathon Clothing store in 2017 with partners including Karen Civil and his brother Samiel Asghedom, and started a co-working environment called Vector 90.

On March 31, 2019, Hussle was fatally shot outside his store in South Central Los Angeles. Eric Holder, who had confronted him earlier that day, was arrested and charged with murder two days later, found guilty of first-degree murder on July 6, 2022, and sentenced to 60 years to life in prison on February 22, 2023. Hussle’s words still connect because they match the facts of his life: self-direction, discipline, community, and the people around you. As he put it, “If you look at the people in your circle and don’t get inspired, then you don’t have a circle, you have a cage.”