Full Circle, Mogul Motivation.

Today, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce honored Nipsey Hussle Da Great, with a star on the Walk of Fame and this day, his 37th Birthday, was declared Nipsey Hussle Day, in the city of Los Angeles; Hussle was one of the most innovative, fearless, enigmatic artists & storytellers of this generation – and ever in my opinion.

I used to joke with my brother that Nip used to scream while rapping his verses sometimes, but it was one of the things I loved about his music. Love it or hate it, you can't deny the passion he has for what he's speaking on in his records. I believe he was speaking for so many people that at times, he had to to scream but he did it with unique rhythm, poise, passion, confidence, and dedication. His topics range from politics, advancement of our community, lessons learned in the streets, and sacrifices he made to get to the level he was on. I say that to say he touched on so many topics that it was obvious he kept an open mind – something that's not always easy to do when you come from poverty and desperation. 

Young Naybahood Nip

I first heard of Nipsey in 2010/11. I was catching the city bus home with my brother and some other people from the school when we started talking about our favorite artists. One of the dudes on the bus with us was actually from Cali; He had a skateboarder type vibe and said his favorite artist was Nipsey Hussle. I remember laughing at the name because coming from him I assumed it was some kind of alternative Cali artist. I didn’t hear his music until a couple of years later…

In 2013, Dom Kennedy dropped his new album Get Home Safely and Nip was featured on the song Pleeze. I remembered the name from that bus convo and once I heard his verse, I had to peep the rest of his catalog. Ironically, a week earlier, Nip had released his Crenshaw mixtape – his most popular mixtape at the time. I've been tapped in ever since.

I’m the type of person to watch interviews when I'm getting to know an artist so I can understand their background and the way they think. It instantly became clear that despite his environment, he was able to visualize and manifest what he wanted his life to be. I saw myself in him. I may have learned as much from Nipsey’s interviews as I did from his music if not more. He conducted the majority of his career as an independent artist, meaning he wasn't signed to a major label. This largely contributed to his brand – The Marathon – and the audience that he cultivated. For this reason today, 3 and half years after his death, ‘The Marathon Continues’.

Nip Hussle’s influence wasn’t just behind the mic, but also in the tech industry, real estate, commerce, and his unrivaled philanthropic endeavors within the community. He was one of the first people I heard publicly speak about crypto currency. Although it's becoming more common, at the time it was rare to hear rap artists speak on those subjects. In 2017, Nipsey co-founded a STEM center and networking incubator in Crenshaw called Vector 90. This introduced the growing field of tech to locals in the area while providing them with a top notch space to flesh out their business ideas amongst other entrepreneurs. To add to that fact, he had cornered the market with The Marathon Clothing under his label’s umbrella, this is world’s first smart store. The store that had this innovative technology created by Iddris Sandu which implemented virtual tags on The Marathon Clothing, which could stream exclusive content from Nip’s music catalog. Years later Hussle and his crew bought the strip mall where the store is located on the same block he grew up hustling in front of on Crenshaw and Slauson.  “Full Circle Mogul Motivation” — a true definition of a pioneer in his community, the Crenshaw District in South Central Los Angeles, and for our generation. Those are just a few of the prolific endeavors that he accomplished in his lifetime. Ultimately, Nipsey was never afraid to take risks and push the culture forward, even if it seemed far-fetched.

Nipsey Hussle pictured along with his business partner David Gross at Vector 90 an incubated center for entrepreneurs in the Crenshaw District

Nipsey was also an avid reader. Some of the books he recommended were: Contagious, The Way of the Superior Man, The Richest Man in Babylon, The Secret, The Spook Who Sat by the Door and The Art & Science of Respect.

The intention of this article wasn't to talk about how cool of a person Nipsey was, but more importantly it is rare for someone with his background to have enough wisdom and discipline at a young age to actually tell the story of the common struggle while demonstrating how to constructively navigate beyond it. If there is anything to be taken away from Nip, I would say it's to always move forward and evolve despite your circumstance because circumstances change, but you can remain steadfast. Long Live Nip Hussle the Great, TMC.

Fred Brown