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LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 11: Masons attend a memorial celebration for slain rapper Nipsey Hussle at the Staples Center arena on April 11, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Nipsey Hussle was shot and killed in front of his store, The Marathon Clothing, on March 31, 2019 in Los Angeles. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
Barack Obama wrote a touching letter in celebration of Nipsey Hussle‘s life that was read Thursday at the slain rapper’s funeral, according to The Wrap.
Longtime friend and business partner, Karen Civil read the letter aloud at the memorial at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, noting that Obama said the rapper left “a legacy worthy of celebration.”
“While most folks look at the Crenshaw neighborhood where he grew up and only see gangs, bullets and despair, he saw potential,” Obama wrote. “He saw hope. He saw a community that even through its flaws taught him to always keep going.”
Marsha Ambrosius has taken the mic to give a rendition of Mariah Carey’s “Fly Like A Bird” #CelebrationOfNipseyHussle
— Karen Civil (@KarenCivil) April 11, 2019
Obama celebrated Nipsey’s impact in his community, writing that it was “his choice to invest in that community rather than to ignore it, to build a skills training center, a co-working space in Crenshaw, to lift up the Eritrean-American community.”
Hussle, born Ermias Asghedom, was shot and killed last month in the parking lot of his clothing store, The Marathon Clothing in Los Angeles. He was 33 years old.
To honor his legacy, L.A. City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson announced earlier this week that the intersection of Crenshaw Blvd. and West Slauson Ave., would be named Ermias “Nipsey Hussle” Asghedom Square in honor of the rapper, The Wrap wrote.
Rap artists such as T.I., YG, Meek Mill and Snoop Dogg took to social media to mourn the rapper’s death. Some of the artists were among the thousands who attended Hussle’s funeral, where speakers included his longtime partner, Lauren London, family members, Snoop Dogg, Louis Farrakhan, among others. Stevie Wonder, Anthony Hamilton and Marsha Ambrosius performed musical selections.
May Nipsey Hussle rest in peace. The “Marathon,” a nod to one of his breakthrough mixtapes, continues.
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