Today (August 15th) marks what would have been Nipsey Hussle’s 36th birthday. For those of you unfamiliar with Nipsey Hussle, he was a trailblazer in the music industry. Nipsey seamlessly intertwined his music, activism, entrepreneurial activities, and his very public affiliation with the Crips into a life devoted to bettering the lives of those in his hometown of Crenshaw.
And that is the Nipsey effect. In my opinion, Nipsey is the exact model of what someone with success should want to do with their platform. He made music he loved, gave himself and his family an amazing life, and made sure that there were as many benefactors of his success as possible. And fortunately, Nipsey’s generosity to all those around him has allowed his legacy to grow post-mortem.
“The Marathon” was the title of Nipsey’s first mixtape and eventually the series in which he named his subsequent albums. Nip put on a masterclass in branding by utilizing the name to his well-received mixtape in other business endeavors, eventually opening a talent agency and clothing store using “The Marathon” moniker.
Unfortunately, Nipsey’s life was taken way too early on March 31st, 2019 when he was shot and killed outside of his Marathon Clothing store in Crenshaw. Nipsey had opened the store to invest in the community and had just bought out the entire strip mall to continue to invest in the space. He also sourced local engineers to develop an app to deeply integrate technology into the shopping experience to inspire those in Crenshaw who may have not had access to such technology otherwise.
So now, The Marathon Continues. Nipsey’s legacy will last forever – not just because of his music, but because he showed the world that having success doesn’t mean forgetting where you came from. It means sharing that success with those that helped you get there, and watching everyone you love flourish with you.
RIP Nip. Happy Birthday. TMC.
My personal favorite song. I was in 8th grade bumping Nip on the bus to baseball games and I vividly remember a game we played at Cherry Hill East where I was listening to this song before getting off the bus. One of my favorite rappers back then, one of my favorite rappers now.