The Victory Lap: In Honor of Nipsey Hussle by Emmanuel Philor

Scripture: Hebrew 12:1-2 

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

The Victory Lap: In Honor of Nipsey Hussle

We are all a bunch of walking contradictions! We are people who live with the tensions of our unique understanding. We are therapists, who don’t practice self-care. We are personal trainers, who don’t practice our dietary regimens. We are preachers, who don’t live the gospel. As if it is not enough to be our own contradictions, we are often contradicting the expectations of others, like being a Christian who occasionally indulges in vulgar language. Contrary to other's expectations, I, like some of you, Love Jesus and Hip-hop. I love the metaphors that offer timeless lessons for its listeners. I love the marriage of music and lyrics that paint a picture. I love the way the overall message of a song changes your mood/outlook on a situation. Hip-hop serves as one of the sages of our society. It is the creative nature of our people. Hip-hop passes down the oral traditions of our past. It’s the moral compass of our community, tell us to look beyond this moment and find the answer to life’s deepest questions. In a society filled with fraudulent, vision-less, mumble rapping and morally depleted artists, we have struggled to keep this uplifting and life-giving art form in a viable state. While the viability of an entire art form will take multiple resuscitations, we saw a climb in the recent class of emcees; whose lyrics call for a radical shift in the intentions and understandings of their communities. One of those effective emcees is the late, Ermias “Nipsey Hussle” Asghedom; and he, too, was a contradiction.  

Nipsey Hussle was a 33-year-old native of the Crenshaw section of Los Angeles, California. He was a member of the Rollin’ 60’s Neighborhood Crips, but he was also one of the most radical leaders in our society. Implying that he was a member of a street gang would normally suggest that he didn’t find value in the members of his community. Regardless of our stereotypical understanding of his life’s narrative, he found a way to be true to his culture and be an advocate for change in his community. He wrestled through the tensions of our understanding and provided opportunities for growth and advancement, in an environment that was set up for failure. In interviews, he has discussed the rough realities of growing up in his neighborhood. As a child, he determined that based upon his communal context, he only had two options for his future: either Gang Banging or Pursuing a career in music.    

In the song Dedication, Kendrick Lamar describes Nipsey as a “Better Crip” which in response dictated his ability to be a good man. His position was possibly suggesting that he lived the values and ideals of the original CRIP organization. I know Crips, to you, is simply a gang, however, the Organization started as a community organization that was responsible for providing protection for their neighborhood. The word CRIP is an acronym for Community Revolution in Progress. The fact that Nipsey was doing community work constitutes that He was living into the oath that he took when he joined the organization. Suffice it to say, he took an oath and kept his word. While many cannot look beyond his involvement with the CRIP organization, I would argue that he was also a better Christian than many of us are as well. Now, I don’t know if Nipsey was a member of anyone’s church, but what I can say it that he was the epitome of the Christian that Christ calls us to be in Matthew 25.   

 While he was known for his work in the music industry, he was more than an artist. With his Right Hand 2 God, he made efforts to better his community. He created opportunities for his community that would eradicate a limited worldview on aspirational goals. He didn’t want people to be bound by the realities that he felt restricted to in his younger years. He didn’t run away to another community to make a difference; rather he worked for the better right at home. Home is supposed to be a place of comfortability and relaxation. It is the place where you can simply be the truest form of yourself. You wear your comfortable clothing, eat all your favorite foods and have fun living through the memories of your past. Home is the place where people never seem to value your potential because all they can see of you is your past. Rather than letting that deter him, he used it for fuel to bring about change. He met with Civic and Community leaders to bring about Policy Change; made conscious efforts to shift the thinking of the community and proved himself to be a visionary. While accomplishing goals in music and running the race towards change; he never paused to take his Victory Lap. Instead, he continually chose to Hussle and Motivate.    

He Doubled Up with a real estate developer, David Gross and the 8th District of Los Angeles’s City Council to develop Vector90, which is a STEM-based Cultural Hub and Co-Working space. He prepared to meet with the City Council and Police Department to find a means of eradicating Gang Violence in his area. He provided jobs and shelter for those experiencing homelessness. He was often found buying sneakers and clothing for school children. His nickname was Neighborhood Nip because he never left his community. He was devoted to reshaping the thinking of his community to consider real estate as more valuable than jewelry. He invested in multiple educational programs, paid for funerals of members of the community, helped to rebuild his community’s infrastructure and even rehabbed public playgrounds and basketball courts for neighborhood children. Today, the Black Community is mourning, because who we’ve lost wasn’t simply a celebrity or a rapper. He wasn’t simply a son, brother, father, spouse, or business owner. He was a community hero!  

My position on Nipsey being an example of Matthew 25 brings us to God-moment in all of this. Many of us are struggling with this tragedy and are looking to God for answers. Amid all the chaos, God seems to remain silent. This brings us back to Question #1 to God. Why didn’t you save Him? Why didn't the gun jam? Why didn't he survive it? Where were you, God? Amid our mourning, I have not found the answers. In tragic situations like this, I acknowledge that the situation suggests that God was not present in this. We all know that this was a good man and God should’ve been there for. I'd even say the God was there. God was present when he was changing his community for the better. God was there when he was parenting his children, loving Lauren and caring for the rest of his family. God was there when he was demonstrating his love for those on the margins of our society. I believe God was there all along. God was in the peace that Nip carried and in his demeanor. God was in the wise and visionary leadership that he offered to so many. I know this doesn’t make it feel any better, but his tenure on Earth suggested that he Stayed Loyal to his cause, which seemed to look to Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith. Proving that Nipsey was an example of a God-appointed mission.   

But, Nipsey didn’t do all this so that we could marvel at his name. He did this work with the hopes that it would spark a revolution in our community. He has joined the great cloud of witnesses and is expecting us to lay aside every weight. But most importantly, to run the race set before us. Nipsey has earned his Victory Lap, as he ran and finished well. Nipsey’s life proved that in a life full of lemons, there can indeed be lemonade; and as I close this eulogy, I have a few words to share with him. I am grateful for your pilgrimage to Eritrea, as it fanned the flame inside of you. It reshaped your worldview and made you the man that we have known and loved. Thank you for finding value in people who our society continually marginalizes and rebuilding the image of their community. Thank you for loving Lauren publicly and letting us journey alongside you as you did it.  Thank you for being a father to your children and offering them a legacy that they can build on. Thank you for always being a good man. 

• Nipsey, You Provided Opportunities for Community’s Children 
• Nipsey, You Were Rewriting the Narrative for Black Youth 
• Nipsey, You gave Hope that there was more than Gang Life 
• Nipsey, You publicized the Black Family  

• Nipsey, You promoted the importance of education 
• Nipsey, You revived a will of activism in a community 
• Nipsey, You taught the value of multiple streams of income 
• Nipsey, You were the example of being a student of our crafts 
• Nipsey, You proved that a Black man from the Hood could be successful 

Nipsey, whether or not you received the Key 2 The City, you deserved so much more. Communities far beyond Los Angeles will be the recipients of your hard work. While we all are saddened by your death, we are grateful for the life that you lived. Thank you for a library of music and a life well lived before us. You were robbed of your victory lap on Earth, but I pray you’re taking your victory lap right now. A generation has been raised to live out and benefit from your work. Take on your rest from the turmoil of this world. Farewell Neighborhood Nip! Farewell!