Nipsey Hussle’s brother reflects on rapper’s iconic memorial service
Blacc Sam, brother to the late West Coast icon Nipsey Hussle, opened up like never before in a new interview with Big Boy that has shed new light on one of music’s most promising stars whose life was cut short in 2019. The hour-and-a-half-long discussion published on Friday (Aug. 9) spanned the gamut of the “Double Up” artist's life, from childhood memories and his music to his entrepreneurial ventures and eventual passing.
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The Hip Hop community and fans across the globe struggled to grapple with the loss of Hussle five years ago. The entertainer was gunned down outside of his business, The Marathon Clothing Store, in Crenshaw. Even now, the challenge remains, especially for Sam.
“[I] just couldn’t understand it. It was like the twilight zone after that. Everything I believed in — my faith was shattered ... Still can’t understand it, honestly. Just a twilight zone, man. [I] don’t understand. [It] shook my whole belief and whatever I believed in,” he told Big.
Tens of thousands of people poured into and around the Crypto.com Arena, formerly the Staples Center, in downtown Los Angeles on April 11, 2019, to pay their respects to the late star. About 20,000 people, including celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, YG, Beyoncé, and JAY-Z, and NBA stars such as Steph Curry and Russell Westbrook, were seated inside as performances and speeches eulogized the revered "Victory Lap" rapper.
However, as revealed by Sam, the larger-than-life send-off was not a move orchestrated by the family. “Honestly, it was God,” said Sam as he began to explain how divinity was weaved throughout the process. “You know, it was Hussle and God because we were just going through it,” he continued. “Obviously we gotta get this funeral handled the right way, we were trying to hit churches and you know, Black churches, Black preachers. Nope, nope, nope. So, we couldn’t find a venue.”
It wasn’t until Karen Civil, a friend and business partner of Hussle’s, took over the reins that things began to fall into place. With the help of resources from LeBron James and Roc Nation, the location was secured. “After weeks and weeks of we can’t get a venue … we got the Staples for bro. And so, at that point, it was like, alright man, we gotta make sure we do this the right way for bro,” the businessman said.
Following the celebration of life service, thousands more lined the streets throughout south LA as a 25-mile procession, from the arena to the Angelus Funeral Home, gave fans and members of the community an opportunity to say one last farewell to the two-time posthumous Grammy Award winner. Along the way, his hearse stopped in front of The Marathon Clothing Store, signifying a symbolic return home and the ultimate victory lap.
“Just driving through the city, I know how much, you know, the city meant to bro and how much bro meant to the city, and we like man, we gon’ drive through all of LA, through everybody's hood in LA,” said Sam, recalling the decision to have a traffic-stopping procession weave through the city. He revealed that even that decision was met with pushback from cops. “Police [saying] we not giving you an escort ... it’s going to be too many problems going through people neighborhoods,” said Sam.
Elsewhere in the interview, Sam touched on his brother’s famous mantra, “The marathon continues,” being a source of tender reflection. He admitted, “When I hear other people say it, [the] marathon continues, you know, I appreciate it."
Yet, for him, those words are difficult to utter. Earnestly speaking, he explained, "I can’t say the marathon continues just for me; I can’t because bro not here so it’s hard for me to say it, but when I hear other people say it, I like it. You know, it’ll never be the same without bro here, but like you said, man, us just trying to continue things that he started and wanted to accomplish, I think it’s our duty, man."
Part of that responsibility in honoring Hussle’s legacy and impact includes a documentary that is forthcoming. Delve into the full conversation between Big Boy and Blacc Sam below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKKNzggSN_U&t=4482s
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