The day before he was murdered in cold blood outside his clothing store, rapper Nipsey Hussle was seen smiling, posing and greeting people at a March Madness basketball game.
The 33-year-old attended the West Regional NCAA March Madness basketball elite 8 game between Texas Tech and Gonzaga in Anaheim, California, on Saturday. The next day, he was executed outside his clothing store.
Hussle, a former gangster turned rapper and entrepreneur, was due to sit down with the LAPD in the coming weeks to discuss gang violence and how to prevent it.
No one has been arrested for his death and fans have gone into a frenzy speculating over the reason behind it.
Nipsey Hussle was pictured on Saturday at a March Madness basketball game in Anaheim, California. The next day, he was shot dead outside his clothing store
The 33-year-old rapper was in high spirits at the game on Saturday between Texas Tech and Gonzaga
Some believe he was killed because he had been buying up property in south Los Angeles an effort to legitimize himself and the area.
Last year, he opened a co-working space and STEM center aimed at bridging the gap between urban communities and Silicon Valley.
Others believe his death is linked to a documentary he was working on about a herbalist who claimed to have cured AIDS.
The LAPD has not yet suggested a motive for his killing but a source close to the investigation told The Los Angeles Times they believe his killer belonged to a gang.
Nipsey was shot multiple times and was pronounced dead after being rushed to hospital. The two other men were in stable conditions. Eyewitnesses saw a man fleeing in a vehicle after the shooting.
Moments before the gunfire, he had tweeted: ‘Having strong enemies is a blessing.’
Hussle was seen socializing at the event with other spectators and smiling for cameras
The rapper, who was also on a mission to eradicate gang violence from the neighborhood where he grew up, was shot multiple times on Sunday. Police are yet to find his killer
Hussle was adored in the music industry. He was due to speak with police in LAPD about gang violence days after his death
Hussle, shown on Saturday, was open about his criminal past. Police are yet to find his killer but sources say he likely belongs to a gang
He had also posed for a photo with a fan’s child just outside his store shortly before being shot.
Nipsey grew up in south Los Angeles and often talked about being in the Rollin 60s Neighborhood Crips gang in his teenage years.
‘We dealt with death, with murder. It was like living in a war zone, where people die on these blocks and everybody is a little bit immune to it,’ he told the LA Times in an interview last year.
He had since become a community organizer in South LA.
He was involved in the Destination Crenshaw arts project and opened a co-working space called Vector 90 in Crenshaw so young people could take classes in science, technology and math.
In recent years, he had been buying up real estate in the neighborhood to try become a legitimate real estate mogul.
He and his business partner had plans to turn the plot where his clothing store was into a residential building and last year, he opened a co-working space and STEM center.
He was eager to increase awareness and interest in the technology and science industries in south L.A., with some residents crediting him for ‘teaching us how to invest’.
Rapper Nipsey Hussle was shot dead outside his clothing store in Los Angeles on Sunday. He is pictured above posing with a fan’s child just moments before the fatal shooting
LA Police Commissioner Steve Soboroff said he was due to meet with Nipsey Hussle and chief of police Michel Moore today to discuss gang violence
Blood stained bandages were spotted on the ground outside the rapper’s Marathon Store on Sunday afternoon following the fatal shooting
The 33-year-old Grammy nominee, who was born Ermias Asghedom, was among three people shot outside the Marathon Store on Sunday afternoon
Police outside The Marathon clothing store owned by Grammy-nominated rapper Nipsey Hussle where he was fatally shot on Sunday
People gathered across the street of the Marathon Clothing store on Sunday after reports of the shooting first broke
Tragic: Hussle is survived by his two-year-old son Kross (L) with Poinsettias for Christmas actress Lauren London as well as a daughter Emani (R) from a prior relationship
‘In our culture, there’s a narrative that says, “Follow the athletes, follow the entertainers.” And that’s cool but there should be something that says, “Follow Elon Musk, follow [Mark] Zuckerberg.”
‘I think that with me being influential as an artist and young and coming from the inner city, it makes sense for me to be one of the people that’s waving that flag,’ he told The Los Angeles Times last year.
Nipsey is survived by his two-year-old son Kross with Poinsettias for Christmas star Lauren London and his daughter Emani from a prior relationship.
Michel Moore, LAPD chief of police who was due to meet Nipsey today, said there had been 10 murders over the last week.
He wrote on Twitter last night: ‘Tonight’s homicide in South LA represents the latest loss in a troubling surge in violence.
‘Since last Sunday 26 victims have been shot & 10 homicides—that’s 36 families left picking up the pieces. We will work aggressively with our community to quell this senseless loss of life.’
The rapper and his girlfriend of five years, Lauren London, had just quizzed each other about favorite colors and celebrity crushes in a GQ interview on Thursday.
‘You. I don’t have a celebrity crush. I’m with my celebrity crush,’ the 34-year-old actress gushed.
Lauren London, Diddy and Nipsey Hussle attend 2019 Roc Nation THE BRUNCH on February 9, 2019 in LA
Long part of the underground rap circuit, Hussle struggled to find fame but began selling his own mixtapes, which hip-hop royalty Jay-Z once bought 100 of for $100 each.
He was Grammy-nominated for Best Rap Album for ‘Victory Lap,’ his first formal album that finally dropped in February 2018 after six years of teasing, but lost out to rap’s woman of the moment Cardi B.
The heavily-tattooed hip-hop star was next scheduled to perform at the Kings of the West concert on September 14 at the SAP Center in San Jose.
Tributes have been flowing in following news of his death from big names in the music industry, including Rihanna, Drake, and Snoop Dogg.
Mayor Eric Garcetti also tweeted Sunday: ‘Our hearts are with the loved ones of Nipsey Hussle.’
Nipsey’s tour mate Snoop Dogg shared several social media tributes in the hours after the shooting.
‘It’s f***ed up, man,’ he said in an Instagram video.
‘I just want to send prayers out to Nipsey Hussle’s family and Lauren London and her family. It’s f***ed up, man. This is f***ed up. Prayers out to the whole family, man. This s*** got to stop, man.
Nine-time Grammy winner Rihanna also tweeted a tribute to Hussle.
‘This doesn’t make any sense!’ she wrote.
‘My spirit is shaken by this! Dear God may His spirit Rest In Peace and May You grant divine comfort to all his loved ones! I’m so sorry this happened to you @nipseyhussle.’
Four-time Grammy winner Drake said his ‘whole energy is just at a low right now hearing this.’
‘We just linked for the first time in years and said we were gonna do a new song this summer cause it had been too long,’ he wrote.
‘You were having the best run and I was so happy watching from distance fam nobody ever talks down on your name you were a real one to your people and to the rest of us. I’m only doing this here cause I want the world to know I saw you as a man of respect and a don. Rest easy my g.’
‘It’s f***ed up, man’: Nipsey’s tour mate Snoop Dogg (R) shared several social media tributes, and admitted he was ‘so sad right now’
‘I’m so sorry this happened to you’: Upon hearing the sad news, nine-time Grammy winner Rihanna tweeted a tribute to Hussle
‘Rest amongst the stars’: 12-time Grammy winner Pharrell Williams tweeted about how Nipsey was about being ‘positive and for your community in every chance you had to speak’
Migos rapper Offset wrote: ‘Black man on a journey of positivity killed this a shame to our culture rest up homie.’
Grammy winner Pharrell Williams tweeted about how Nipsey was about being ‘positive and for your community in every chance you had to speak.’
‘And because of that you inspired millions..millions who will uphold your legacy forever. Rest amongst the stars,’ the 45-year-old producer wrote.
Grieving Grammy nominee Kevin Hart shared a snap of himself standing beside the late 6ft 3in rapper.
‘God damn man,’ the 39-year-old comedian wrote on Instagram. ‘Real emotions and feelings rights now. F*** man…u have always been a good dude…I’m so sorry…RIP man.’
Girls Trip actress Jada Pinkett Smith said she was ‘an admirer of your wisdom’ and said her heart bleeds for Lauren, writing: ‘He’s an angel on your shoulder now.’
Los Angeles Lakers power forward LeBron James tweeted: ‘@NipseyHussle! So so SAD man!! DAMN man this hurt.’
Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry wrote: ‘God please cover and restore @NipseyHussle right now!’
‘U have always been a good dude…I’m so sorry’: Grieving Grammy nominee Kevin Hart shared a snap of himself standing beside the late 6ft3in rapper
Los Angeles Lakers power forward LeBron James was also aghast tweeting: ‘@NipseyHussle! So so SAD man!! DAMN man this hurt’
Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry publicly prayed: ‘God please cover and restore @NipseyHussle right now!’
