The Grammy-nominated rapper Nipsey Hussle was killed in a shooting outside his clothing store in Los Angeles, multiple law enforcement sources said. Two other men were in serious condition, and a suspect remained at large. No further information was immediately available about the shooting at Marathon Clothing on Slauson Avenue in South Los Angeles. But just a couple of hours before, Hussle, 33, whose real name was Ermias Ashgedom, had tweeted, “Having strong enemies is a blessing.”
A large crowd of people, many of them crying, gathered at the intersection as police and media helicopters whirred overhead. One of them was Matthew Talley of Denver, the engineer and director known as Megatron. “It ain’t just Los Angeles. He was an inspiration that was bigger than Los Angeles,” Talley said. “You see all these people out here? . “He was really cool,” Talley said. “He was a dope individual every time I met him.”
Hussle’s debut studio album, “Victory Lap” was nominated for Best Rap Album at this year’s Grammy Awards. Hussle had long been associated with the Rollin 60s Neighborhood Crips, one of Los Angeles’ largest street gangs, which he publicly acknowledged in a 2010 interview with Complex magazine.
