RIP NIPSEY.

I was up late blogging when I checked my phone for updates and notifications. I saw RIP next to a rap artist I found familiar…

It was Nipsey Hustle! My jaw dropped! That was out of the blue. Little did I know it was news that just came in. The fact it was on the 1st April 2019 makes it feel even more spooky when you think of the alarming rate many black artist are being killed, by natural or unnatural causes, so-called sacrificial killings, its crazy. The 1st of the month came and we lost such an influential artist. An artist for me chose to talk about Unity and Wealth rather than just a community degrading and destroying each other.

Firstly I would like to give my condolences to the Family of Nipsey Hustle… Both his maternal family and that of the streets. This was a young black man I thought was going to do amazing things after claiming to own his own Masters in his raps. Is it coincidence that more creative Black Men are dying because they wish to own their masters. It was reported however, Nipsey Hustle was gunned down in L.A but no news about his killers as yet. A little time would reveal it was a Jealous gang member. The motives behind that are said to be suspicious too! Some say he was an informant. Its very strange in areas of deprivation many jump on the bandwagon and assuming someone is a police informant. I have had it myself but it is mainly down to Stereotypes because some say I speak posh! No I just speak English.

No matter how this young Black Man died it is still a loss. I mean it was his song “Dedication” which gave me the kick I needed after a messy relationship and family rejection. I decided to get back to my passion and that was writing and creating. I had left some projects half done and it was now a great opportunity to get the ball rolling on some of them. Without that song I would not have found these combination of words for encouragement.

News like this just makes me feel like being “A Black Man is Dangerous”. By this I mean no matter where a Black Man goes he is a TARGET! profiled, stereotyped, the whole works. W also suffer a double threat because our lives are at risks from our own. I as a Black Man and the creator of such a brand has been the target of so many rumors and gossip I just decided it was long being an artist. Especially in the UK where it is so small. I have received abusive phone calls, false accusations, people trying to extort you because they assume you have millions... It can be crazy living in the hood! I mean I had a few views on Youtube and some guy wanted to rob me because I had music videos under 1k views on Youtube. It can be crazy having to deal with certain characters.

It seems like the more you put yourself in the public eye the more you are at threat because of people’s assumptions, what they hear, what they think, and most importantly they don’t even know you!

I never thought creating a platform to assist people under-represented could receive such negativity, especially when they display such a high level of hypocrisy. However, if I have to put my life on the line for something I believe in then why should I stop. I found it hard as an aspiring artists and no one supported me except one well known DJ in the Jungle music scene. Without his initial Free help I would not have managed to produce a single called “Another Life”, nor would I have been able to learn some of the early traps of the music industry.

Ermias Joseph Asghedom known professionally as Nipsey Hussle was an American rapper, activist, and entrepreneur emerging from the West Coast hip hop scene in the mid-2000s, Hussle independently released his first mixtape, Slauson Boy Volume 1, which led to him being signed to Cinematic Music Group and Epic Records.

Hussle became known for a number of mixtapes, including his Bullets Ain't Got No Name series, The Marathon, The Marathon Continues, and Crenshaw. Even Jay-Z supported by buying 100 copies for 411. It was the studio album Victory Lap released in 2018 which brought him critical acclaim and commercial success and was nominated for the Best Rap Album at the 61st Grammy Awards in 2019.