USC community mourns loss of Nipsey Hussle in wake of violence concerns


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More than 50 USC and local community members gathered at Tommy Trojan Tuesday to mourn South Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle, who died Sunday. (Josh Dunst/Daily Trojan)

Jonathan Richards recalls feeling his body shake and his stomach flip upon learning that rapper and activist Nipsey Hussle had been shot on Sunday.

“I literally sprinted to my car and went back home and went to Slauson to figure out what was going on,” said Richards, a freshman majoring in business administration. “Then we got the tweet that he died. Everybody was in shock. We didn’t know what to do.”

Richardson was one of the over 50 individuals who gathered in front of Tommy Trojan Tuesday night for a vigil hosted by the Black Student Assembly to honor the life of Hussle, an artist who dedicated much of his career to giving back to his home community. One by one, students and members of the local community stepped forward to speak about Hussle’s legacy and what his advocacy meant to both the South Los Angeles and black communities.

“His music and just the way he moved around life just taught me a lot about how to carry yourself how to believe in yourself,” said Nicholas Earl, a senior majoring in cinema and media studies. “The way he lived his life made me excited to live my life, and I can’t wait to get my degree, get out of here and make a bunch of money so that I can give back to my home.”

Hussle was shot Sunday in Hyde Park outside of the store he co-owned, The Marathon Clothing, shocking many in the local community. Despite his fame, Hussle worked on youth initiatives, as well as projects like Destination Crenshaw, an art installation aimed at preserving the black culture of South L.A.

“It’s hard knowing that your hometown hero died the way he did over some stupid shit,” Richards said to the crowd. “It was like a hole was in my heart because he did so much for my community. He was there; he was the presence that everybody looked up to besides all the bullshit you see in the news … The man did so much for me and my family. He was that figure that I looked up to when temptation struck.”

Anijah Lezama, a freshman majoring in dance, said that Hussle’s death points to the lack of resources available in the black community — something Hussle had worked to combat.

“The black people in these communities are suffering,” Lezama said. “They need help, but there’s no access to these resources … We need to speak up, we need to get in there, we need to do more.”

Hussle’s death isn’t the first to have impacted the USC community in the last few weeks. Victor McElhaney, a USC senior who studied jazz music, died after getting shot in a failed robbery attempt over spring break.

“This death was kind of like a double whammy,” Center for Black Cultural and Student Affairs coordinator Saphia Jackson said. “It goes to show that you really can’t take life for granted. These are all leaders in our community, whether or not you knew Victor, whether or not you knew Nipsey, or knew of him or knew of his songs or even his legacy.”

Jackson, who co-hosted the event, said she wanted the vigil to be a place for the USC community to come together and express their respect for Hussle, whether or not they were from South L.A.

“Within this last month, I can really understand why people get bitter. It’s not even this last month it’s been the past years or so,” said Jackson, a senior majoring in public policy. “This is like my eighth or ninth time talking about gun violence, talking about another black man dying by ignorance … It hit me close to home.”