Nipsey Hussle

Ermias Joseph Asghedom (August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019; born Airmiess Joseph Asghedom), known professionally as Nipsey Hussle (often stylized as Nipsey Hu$$le), was an American rapper, entrepreneur, and activist.

Airmiess Joseph Asghedom was born on August 15, 1985, and raised in the Crenshaw District of South Central Los Angeles by his mother Angelique Smith ( Boutte), an African-American woman, and Dawit Asghedom, an Eritrean war refugee who came to the United States after fleeing the Eritrean War of Independence.

He was raised with his brother Samiel also known as Blacc Sam and his sister Samantha.

Asghedom attended Alexander Hamilton High School in the nearby Castle Heights neighborhood, and dropped out before graduating.

At age 14, Asghedom left home and joined the local Rollin' 60s Neighborhood Crips, a sub-group of the larger Crips gang primarily based in his home neighborhood of Crenshaw.

Despite the song, which samples Kris Kross' 1992 single Jump, being well received by critics, it failed to make any impact on the charts.

Emerging from the West Coast hip hop scene in the mid-2000s, Hussle independently released his debut mixtape, Slauson Boy Volume 1, to moderate local success, which led to him being signed to Cinematic Music Group and Epic Records.

Hussle became known for his numerous mixtapes, including his Bullets Ain't Got No Name series, The Marathon, The Marathon Continues, and Crenshaw, the last of which American rapper Jay-Z bought 100 copies for $100 each.

In 2002, at the age of 17, Hussle would join Buttervision, a creative multimedia Digital Guerrilla movement led by Dexter Browne where he would be part of the BV Boys Sampler, Beats & Babes Vol. 1 DVD, and Shades of Butter Vol. 1 DVD.

He would also get his name "Nipsey Hussle" there and complete the recording for his debut mixtape Slauson Boy Volume 1.

His stage name, a play on the name of comedian and game show panelist Nipsey Russell, originated as a nickname given to Asghedom by a childhood acquaintance who respected his work ethic.

In 2004, when Asghedom was 19, his father took him and his brother Samiel on a three-month trip to Eritrea.

Asghedom credited the trip with inspiring him to become a community activist with an "entrepreneurial spirit".

In December 2005, Hussle independently released his first mixtape, Slauson Boy Volume 1, to moderate local success.

His debut project helped to build a small regional fanbase on the West Coast, and eventually led to Hussle being signed to Cinematic Music Group and Epic Records.

In 2006, he appeared as a featured performer on the final posthumous album by 2Pac, Pac's Life.

In 2008, Hussle released the first two installments in his Bullets Ain't Got No Name series of mixtapes, which helped to bring Hussle's music to a larger audience.

Nipsey's profile continued to grow into 2009 when he collaborated with Drake on the song "Killer", and also appeared, along with Snoop Dogg and Problem, on the song "Upside Down", from Snoop Dogg's 2009 album Malice n Wonderland.

He released the third installment in Bullets Ain't Got No Name, as well as his commercial debut single, "Hussle in the House".

After Epic experienced financial issues in 2010, Nipsey opted not to renew his contract and left the label.

Not long after going independent, Hussle appeared on the song "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", and was featured by XXL Magazine as one of its "Annual Freshman Top Ten", a selection of ten up-and-coming hip-hop artists to watch.

XXL labeled him "Most Determined" of his class, and LA Weekly called him the "next Big L.A. MC".

Hussle was expected to release his debut album, South Central State of Mind, in October 2010.

Prior to release, the album was supported by the single "Feelin' Myself" featuring Lloyd.

While the production was set to be handled from J.R. Rotem, Scott Storch, Mr. Lee, Play-N-Skillz, Terrace Martin, and 1500 or Nothin', the album was set to be featured with the guest appearances from Trey Songz, Jay Rock, and Sean Kingston.

Concurrently, he announced that he planned on releasing a mixtape with fellow rapper Jay Rock, titled Red and Blue Make Green.

Following the release of a music video for "Feelin' Myself", the album was set for a December 21, 2010 release; however, both of these projects were eventually postponed indefinitely.

After leaving Epic, Nipsey founded his own record label, All Money In Records.

On December 21, 2010, he released his first All Money In Records mixtape, titled The Marathon, which featured guest appearances from Kokane and MGMT.

On November 1, 2011, Hussle released a sequel titled The Marathon Continues, which featured L.A. rappers YG and Dom Kennedy.

On April 17, 2012, Hussle released a collaborative album with fellow rapper Blanco, Raw.

The album featured guest appearances from YG, Mistah FAB, Yukmouth, B-Legit, Kokane and Freeway.

In May 2012, Nipsey released a single titled Proud of That, marking his first collaboration with Florida rapper Rick Ross.

Outside of music, Hussle inaugurated the Marathon Clothing store, which he founded along with partners Carless, the head of the agency, Karen Civil, and his brother Samiel Asghedom in 2017, and started a co-working environment which he named "Vector 90".

After much delay, his debut studio album Victory Lap was released in 2018 to critical acclaim and commercial success, and was nominated for the Best Rap Album at the 61st Grammy Awards in 2019.

On March 31, 2019, Hussle was fatally shot outside his store in South Central Los Angeles.

Eric Holder, a 29-year-old man who confronted Hussle earlier that day, was arrested and charged with murder two days later.

Holder was found guilty of first-degree murder on July 6, 2022.

On February 22, 2023, Holder was sentenced to 60 years to life in prison.

At the 62nd Grammy Awards in 2020, two posthumous Grammy Awards for the songs "Racks in the Middle" and "Higher" were awarded to Hussle in the Best Rap Performance and Best Rap/Sung Performance categories respectively.