Nipsey Hussle was born Ermias Joseph Asghedom on August 15, 1985, in Los Angeles California. His parents were Dawait Asghedom, an Eritrean immigrant, and Angelique Smith, an African American woman from LA. He also has an older brother named Samiel and a sister named Samantha.
Asghedom grew up in the poverty-stricken, gang-infested environment of Crenshaw, which was in South Central LA, and joined the Crips at a very young age. Although he attended Alexander Hamilton High School, he never received his diploma. He was involved in some petty crimes that would send him to a juvenile detention facility but was determined to turn his life around, and he turned to music.
Asgehdom adopted the name Nipsey Hussle in honor of the comedian, Julius “Nipsey” Russell. Hussle would release his first mixtape, Slauson Boy Volume 1, in 2005. His style was a mixture of some comedic lines like that of Snoop Dogg and heavy gang-related topics like that of Ice Cube.
He started to appear on tracks with Drake and Snoop Dogg while also releasing his slew of mixtapes including Bullets Ain’t Got No Name and Crenshaw. His first official debut, a full-length album, was Victory Lap. The album featured artists like Kendrick Lamar, the Dream, and YG, and would debut on the Top Five of the Billboard 200. The album would also be nominated for Best Rap Album at the 61st Grammy Awards.
Hussle’s father took Nipsey and his brother Samiel to Eritrea in 2004 for 3 months, which would be the inspiration for Hussle’s community activism. He made sure to support his community and do what he could to give back, even setting up co-working spaces that students could learn STEM.
On March 31, 2019, Hussle was shot and killed outside of his Marathon Clothing store in LA. He was only 33 years old. He would leave behind his wife, Lauren London, and their children. The community showed an outpouring of support for the late rapper after his death.
Kassidy Garland has had a great appreciation for reading and writing since she was young. She graduated from West Chester University in 2017 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English & Women and Gender Studies. With a concentration in creative writing, Kassidy has 5 years of experience writing blogs, articles, and for social media. Kassidy is also pursuing a Master’s degree in IT with a concentration in Web Development. Based out of Philadelphia, Kassidy loves to write about a number of topics and looks forward to sharing her passion with those at FunTimes Magazine.
