The music industry is reeling following rapper Nipsey Hussle’s untimely death on Sunday.
The rapper, who was born Ermias Ashgedom was killed in a shooting outside of his Los Angeles clothing store, Marathon Clothing. According to NBC News , law enforcement sources have said that two men are currently in serious condition and a suspect remains at large. The rapper was immediately rushed to the hospital where he presumably died. Upon hearing of his death, multiple performers took to social media to remember the rapper and spread light to his longtime girlfriend, actress Lauren London.
“This doesn’t make any sense! 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,” wrote Rihanna on Instagram.
“My 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,” Drake remembers of his fallen friend on Instagram.
Singer SZA also shared a photo of Hussle on her Instagram page and remembers the “Double Up” rapper as a “brilliant human.” She also said she spreads “infinite” love to London and their family. The couple, who have been together since 2014, have one son together, Kross, 2. Hussle also reportedly has other children from previous relationships.
The Los Angeles-born rapper has been on hip-hop’s radar for years, but released his debut album, Victory Lap , in 2018. The album earned the artist his first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album. According to NBC News , the rapper publicly acknowledged his involvement with the Rolling 60s Neighborhood Crips, which is one of Los Angeles’ most dangerous gangs. However, he was recently more involved in technology and community development.
The “Hussle & Motivate” rapper was involved in a team of artists and entrepreneurs who developed Destination Crenshaw, an open-air museum devoted to honoring African-American artistic achievements. The rapper was also very vocal in the importance of children in developing neighborhoods seeing as many opportunities as possible. He also told the Los Angeles Times that he had fallen victim to narratives pushed on him in his youth and wanted to see better for future generations, per NBC News.
“In our culture, there’s a narrative that says, ‘Follow the athletes, follow the entertainers,’” he said. “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.”
The details surrounding Hussle’s death are still developing.