Grammy-nominated rapper Nipsey Hussle was shot dead on Sunday in Los Angeles, sparking an outpouring of grief from celebrities as the city’s mayor blamed “senseless gun violence.”
According to local media reports, Hussle was shot at close range on Sunday afternoon in front of his own clothing store by a man who fled in a getaway car.
“Our hearts are with the loved ones of Nipsey Hussle and everyone touched by this awful tragedy,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted.
Photo: AP
“L.A. is hurt deeply each time a young life is lost to senseless gun violence,” Garcetti added.
A police spokesman said that the suspected shooter remained at large.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the shooting was “likely planned and gang-related.”
The Grammy-nominated rapper found minor commercial success, but was highly revered among his peers, and his shocking death triggered an outpouring of tributes from hip-hop royalty.
“Gone 2 soon,” rapper Snoop Dogg posted on Instagram. “I’m so sad right now I’ll just reflect on the good times we had.”
Rihanna posted that “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.”
Outside his clothing store, a crowd gathered behind yellow police tape and a grief-stricken woman clasped her hand over her mouth.
At least one cartridge case lay on the ground, near a black ball cap.
Long a part of the underground rap circuit, Hussle struggled to find fame, but began selling his own mixtapes, which rapper Jay-Z once bought 100 of for US$100 each.
Hours before his death, Hussle — whose youth was intertwined with Los Angeles gang culture — tweeted: “Having strong enemies is a blessing.”
Hussle’s Victory Lap scored a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album at this year’s ceremony.
It was his first formal album, which dropped after six years of teasing, but ultimately lost the honor to rap’s woman of the moment, Cardi B.
Megastar Drake also posted his condolences, saying: “My whole energy is just at a low right now hearing this. You were a real one to your people and the rest of us. Rest easy my g.”
Born Ermias Asghedom, Hussle was seen by many in Los Angeles as a linchpin of the community, redistributing his earnings into the violence-plagued neighborhoods that he came from.
The artist was involved in a project to reclaim the city’s southern districts for the black residents who made it sing.
“Hussle had a vision of a neighborhood built for and by the sons and daughters of South Los Angeles,” city councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson said in a statement following news of the rapper’s death.
“During his life, he moved from shadows into the bright hope of freedom and community revitalization,” Harris-Dawson added.
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