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Written by Daniel Ngwere. April 1, 2019

Ermias Davidson Asghedom, better known professionally as beloved Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle, has died after being shot 6 times in front his Marathon clothing store in LA. He was 33. He is survived by two children, Emani and Kross and his wife, Lauren London. His death was confirmed by NBC News, who reports that he died from injuries sustained from gunshot wounds. TMZ also confirmed.

(Last known photo of Nipsey Hussle alive..., taken moments before his death pictured here with two year old son, Kross)

Nipsey, affectionately referred to in the Crenshaw district of LA where his store is located as Neighborhood Nip, was a fixture of the community, growing up in the area and eventually founding his clothing store there, and buying the remaining storefronts in the plaza surrounding it, which faces the corner of Slauson Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard. Both streets figured prominently into his music, as does his upbringing as part of the Rollin 60s Neighborhood Crips gang that patrols the area.

Nipsey had big plans in the works; a full length documentary on the 1985 Trial of Dr. Sebi, a holistic herbalist who claimed to have cured HIV/AIDS, Cancer, Diabetes, paralysis, and other medical issues and was sued by the U.S government and won not only one case, but two federal cases. Nipsey’s most proud venture was “Too Big To Fail” a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math(STEM) center and maker space for youth in Los Angeles’ Crenshaw neighborhood.

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The rapper planned to launch the academy with his business partner and real estate developer Dave Gross. The 33-year-old said that he hopes the space can be a “bridge between Silicon Valley and the inner city.” Nipsey and Gross planned on partnering with his cousin, Los Angeles native and lifelong educator, Dr. Ifeanyi “Allah” Ufondu, Educational Psychologist and owner of Beautiful Minds Inc.- Advocacy & Special Needs Solutions.  Ufondu, also a product of the South Central neighborhood Nipsey grew up in, was scheduled to collaborate with Nipsey and Gross to create a multi-cultural, critical thinking curriculum aimed at developing global thinkers out of local, inner-city, At-Risk youth.

This is a great loss, not only for Lauren, Emani and Kross, but for the city of Los Angeles and the world! Hip-Hop lost an amazing talent who poured his mind, money and spirit into the neighborhood that bore him! A champion for redemption, family, entrepreneurship, youth education and holistic health. This was not one of US that took Nipsey from US…This was something much deeper! When a man makes it from here (S. Central Los Angeles, CA) on his own merit, his own terms, without taking any oaths or sacrificing his soul…Owning his own masters, buying back his neighborhood residentially and commercially, creating schools and businesses for his own community, developing documentaries that would potentially expose the huge lies our government and pharmaceutical corporations feed us, and consistently spreading knowledge and gems to the unenlightened… He had to know that THEY were coming for him. REST EASY, YOUNG KING…REST EASY!

Dr. Ifeanyi Ufondu, Owner Beautiful Minds Inc.- Advocacy & Special Needs Solutions

The Los Angeles native didn’t plan to stop in California, saying that the first school would be “a model that we’re going to scale.” The duo had plans for STEM academies in other cities, such as: Atlanta, D.C., and Baltimore.

The ultimate goal is to create “a resource network across the country” that students can tap into for knowledge-sharing and networking.

To find out more about the initiative and how you can help, visit Too Big To Fail’s website.

Nipsey was fresh off the successful run of his first major label album, Victory Lap, which capped a decade of independent releases from the hometown hero, including a pair of mixtapes, Crenshaw and Mailbox Money, that he infamously sold for $100 and $1,000, respectively. Victory Lap was released in partnership with Atlantic Records and earned, among other things, a nomination for the 2019 Best Rap Album Grammy.

Beautiful Minds Inc. sends thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of Nipsey Hussle.