‘Marathon’ keeps pace with Nipsey Hussle’s legacy
Biography of the late hip-hop star takes him back to the beginning.
The marathon continues – as does Nipsey Hussle’s legacy.
It has been almost two years since Hussle was gunned down in front of his Marathon Clothing Store in Los Angeles, yet his mission statement has found renewed hope with Rob Kenner’s biography of the hip-hop mogul and activist, “The Marathon Don’t Stop: The Life and Times of Nipsey Hussle” (434 pp., Atria Books).
Hussle preached through his music and his actions the importance of knowing where you’re from to help determine knowing where you’re going. “Marathon” chronicles Hussle’s rise, threading details about the history of Los Angeles, hip-hop’s roots and racism’s impact, all of which played into Hussle’s story – and his untimely death.
The book is as celebratory and commemorative as it is heartbreaking. The combination of Kenner’s interviews and more than a hundred primary and secondary sources develop a clear image of who Hussle was.
We’ve rounded up the book’s most poignant moments, including stories about his music and his romantic partnership with Lauren London:
How Hussle got his rap name
The rapper, whose real name is Ermias Asghedom, went by a few monikers including Concept and nickname Ermy before settling on Nipsey Hussle.
“Ermias needed a new rap name,” Kenner writes. “They wanted a name that would stick, something that could become a brand.”
Hussle’s friend Baby Gooch gave him the name, a reference to comedian Nipsey Russell. Asghedom was known for hustling on the block to get whatever he needed, and when he hustled up some food and weed one night during a recording session, it “was enough to spark Gooch’s imagination,” Kenner writes. “He looked up from his mixing board and said, ‘I got it – Nipsey Hussle!’ ”
“After that point, he ran with it and really embraced the Hussle ambition,” Gooch says. “It was his identity.”
Hussle’s relationship with London
“Los Angeles love, kinda like Hussle and Boog,” Hussle rapped on DJ Khaled’s “Higher” about his relationship with London, whom he called Boogie.
Though Kenner doesn’t get deep into the intimacies of their relationship, he recounts the beginning of their relationship. London initially reached out to Hussle to buy copies of his $100 limited-edition “Crenshaw” mixtape for her “The Game” co-stars. “Hussle almost gave them to her for free … but then he thought again,” Kenner writes, noting Hussle said he wanted to keep it professional since guys “probably always givin’ her free” things. “They laughed about it afterwards.”
Their relationship flourished after the first date, where they ate at her aunt’s house and then drove down the Pacific Coast Highway.
Years later, as Hussle put the finishing touches on his album “Victory Lap,” he called London his “muse,” and Kenner notes London was a driving force behind the music and “her voice can be heard saying the words ‘victory lap’ between tracks.”
Chilling recount of Hussle’s final moments
Kenner pieces together the timeline leading up to the moment Hussle was killed. Authorities allege that Eric R. Holder shot and killed Hussle and wounded two other men on March 31, 2019. Holder, who was arrested two days after the shooting, has pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder charges.
Hussle was not supposed to be at the Marathon store that Sunday afternoon, Kenner writes. He was stopping by to pick up some clothes for “the homie … 56-year-old Kerry Louis Lathan Sr., aka Cousin Kerry.”
Holder pulled up and started talking to Hussle as he waited for Cousin Kerry to arrive, the book alleges. The two allegedly had a conversation about snitching, in which Hussle alluded to rumors of “court documents (that) suggest” Holder “had struck a deal to reduce (a) penalty.” An unnamed woman-turned-witness who accompanied Holder took a selfie with Hussle. Holder allegedly left the plaza before returning armed.
“One of the first bullets struck Kerry in the back just below his belt … Hussle went down just after. Kerry could see part of his body lying on the ground past the car tire that obstructed his vision. He heard the gunman shooting. He heard women screaming,” Kenner writes. “The EMS team administered an IV and breathing tube, trying to stabilize Hussle. They didn’t notice the wound to his head until they lifted him onto a stretcher.”
‘FDT’: More than a protest song
Though his collaboration with Roddy Ricch on “Racks in the Middle” brought him a posthumous Grammy, Hussle’s collab with YG on “FDT” brought him acclaim across the nation.
The song, which has become a popular protest anthem, became a rallying cry against former President Donald Trump. Both LA artists “found Trump’s attacks on Mexican Americans particularly offensive,” and as Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign kicked off, Hussle and YG felt the urgency to fight back with their voices. Kenner reveals “with inspiration flowing, the record was done in less than an hour.”
It wasn’t the first time Hussle worked together on a song – but this one had a message of unity across color lines of gangs and races.
The repeated three-word rebuke of the then-candidate Trump in the chorus gives way to criticism, threats and the uplifting of marginalized groups. “This Comedy Central (expletive) couldn’t be the President/ Hold up, Nip, tell the world how you (expletive) with Mexicans,” YG raps before Hussle jumps in to add: “It wouldn’t be the USA without Mexicans/And if it’s time to team up (expletive) let’s begin/Black love, brown pride in the sets again.”
“FDT” was scrutinized by the government and ultimately kept off radio airwaves, which Hussle fought against for years after its release, Kenner notes.
“We gotta be radical sometimes,” Hussle says in the book. “It’s something we stood out on a limb for.”
Creative writing was his early outlet
Before becoming hardened by the streets of South Central LA, Hussle was Ermias, a young boy living in Crenshaw with big dreams that he put into words.
“He showed a talent for creative writing,” Kennr notes. “At age 7, Ermias wrote a short story called ‘The Snow Monster’ about four brave friends, one of whom had the same name as his big brother (Sam).
Hussle wrote a poem at 10 called “Clouds in the Desert,” writing, “You are burning through the day, as I run you follow me. You are all over as I cry out for help. I am struck by the light. Not a soul responds to my cry.”