DISGRACELAND - Nipsey Hussle: A Crenshaw Murder, Community Activism, Rollin 60s Crips, and Lost Potential

Episode Date: May 12, 2020

Nipsey Hussle was more than just one of this generation’s most promising voices in hip hop. He was a social activist, a community leader, and an aspirational entrepreneur. His death was senseless and set off grief-stricken testimonials from some of the biggest names in hip hop as well as from some of the biggest names in our culture – period. It also set off a riot in the streets of Los Angeles – the streets where he came up and where he was shot down. He was taken from us too soon and we’re still searching for answers. To view the full list of contributors, see the show notes at ⁠www.disgracelandpod.com⁠. This episode was originally released on May 12, 2020. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclusive episode, weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠disgracelandpod.com/membership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GET THE NEWSLETTER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (formerly Twitter)  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook Fan Group⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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and there were always those two employees behind the counter arguing about movies? Well, that's us. I'm Millie to Cherico. And I'm Casey O'Brien. And now we're arguing about movies on our podcast, Dear Movies I Love You, from the Exactly Right Network. Can I say something about the Criterion Clause? Go ahead, dude. They're letting too many people in there. Okay, that's another film grape I got to. Sadly, that rental place doesn't exist anymore. It's probably a store that sells running shoes. Or an ice cream shop with an extra pee and an E at the end.

So consider us your slacker movie clerks in podcast form. like to establish a timeline of the moment you figured out who Channing Tatum was. Every Tuesday, we dig into the movies we can't stop obsessing over, from hidden gems to big screen favorites. New episodes drop every week on the exactly right network. Listen to Dear Movies I Love You on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Kate Winkler Dawson, host of the Wicked Words podcast. Each week I sit down with the true crime writers behind some. of the most compelling true crime stories and discuss their years spent investigating

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He was murdered. This season on Dear Chelsea, with me, Chelsea Handler, we have some fantastic guests. Like Amelia Clark. When like young people come up to me and they want to be an act or whatever. My first thing is always, can you think of anything else that you can do? Rather be disappointed in. Do that. Dennis Leary.

I wake up and I'm hitting him in the head with a water bomb. And Bruce Jenner is on the aisle in a karate stance. Like he's about to attack me. Like making karate noises. And his entire, the Kardashians family over there, everybody's going, and the air marshal is trying to grab my arms and screaming. I immediately know that I've been at sleepwalk. David O'Yellowo.

I love this podcast, whether it's therapy or relationships or religion or sex or addiction or you just go straight for the guts. Guy Branham. So anyway, Nicole Kidman broke up with Keith Thurban. Being half of a country couple was always a hat she was going to wear, not like a life she was going to lead. Oh, interesting. I like that. Did you practice that on your way over? Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things.

Tana Monsu. Camilla Marone, Carrie Kenny Silver, and more. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Remember when you'd walk into your local video rental place and there were always those two employees behind the counter arguing about movies? Well, that's us. I'm Millie de Cherko.

And I'm Casey O'Brien. And now we're arguing about movies on our podcast, Dear Movies I Love You, from the Exactly Right Network. Can I say something about the Criterion Clause? Go ahead, dude. They're letting too many people in there. Okay. That's another film, Grap, I got two. Sadly, that rental place doesn't exist anymore.

It's probably a store that sells running shoes. Or an ice cream shop with an extra pee and an E at the end. So consider us your slacker movie clerks in podcast form. I would like to establish a timeline of, the moment you figured out who Channing Tatum was. Every Tuesday, we dig into the movies we can't stop obsessing over it, from hidden gems to big screen favorites. New episodes drop every week on the Exactly Right Network.

Listen to Dear Movies I Love You on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Kate Winkler Dawson, host of the Wicked Words podcast. Each week I sit down with the true crime writers behind some of the most compelling true crime stories and discuss their years spent investigating and why it still matters. He sees his father coming out of the woods with his hands over his face, and he knows something happened. His father just grabs him and says, she's gone, she's gone. These are the cases that leave survivors, families, and the journalists who cover them changed forever. Working in

national television, it'll push you to your limits, and you'll end up doing things you never thought you do, you know, you look back at it and you're like, I can't believe that really happened. Join me and step inside the investigation. New episodes drop every Monday on the Exactly Right Network. Listen to Wicked Words on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. At an early age, his funeral inspired tears from celebrities, politicians, and neighbors. As a young teenager, he joined L.A.'s notorious role in 60s Crips Street Gang,

and as an adult, he worked to bring peace and opportunity to the same neighborhood that the Crips ruled. He was jumped into that gang as a 14-year-old, and he relied on the Crips

to survive out on the streets of L.A.'s South Central Crenshaw neighborhood. Nipsey would eventually shift his focus from the street to music. But first, in order to sign his first record deal, he'd have to turn himself into the law after a short stint on the run.

But it was worth it. because Nipsey Hustle would go on to make great music. And that music you heard at the top of the show, that wasn't great music. That was a preset loop from my Melotron called Mello Cueva MK2. I played you that loop because I can't afford the rights to Seven Rings by Ariana Grande. And why would I play you that specific slice of modern Rogers and Hammerstein-inspired cheese could I afford it? Because that was the number one song in America on March 31st, 2019. And that was the day Nipsey Hustle exchanged words with a fellow gangbanger.

It was senselessly gunned down, smack dab in the middle of the community he loved, and it loved him back. On this episode, Crenshaw, Crips, Community, and Nipsey Hustle. I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Disgraceland. Three plain clothes LAPD detectives were on the seat, trying to blend in. Of course, every... This season on Dear Chelsea, with me, Chelsea Handler, we have some fantastic guests like Amelia Clark. When, like, young people come up to me and they want to be an act or whatever,

my first thing is always, can you think of anything else that you can do? Rather be disappointed in. Do that. Dennis Leary. I wake up, and I'm hitting him in the head with a water. Bob. And Bruce Jenner is on the aisle in a karate stance like he's about to attack me, like making karate noises. And his entire, the Kardashian family over there, everybody's going, and the air marshal is trying to grab my arms and screaming. I immediately know that I've

been asleepwalking. David O'Yellowo. I love this podcast, whether it's therapy or relationships, or religion or sex or addiction, or you just go straight for the guts. Guy Branham. So anyway, Nicole Kidman broke up with Keith Thurban. Being half of a country couple was always a hat she was going to wear, not like a life she was going to lead. Oh, interesting. I like that. Did you practice that on your way over? Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things.

Tena Monsu. Camilla Morone, Carrie Kenny Silver, and more. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Kate Winkler Dawson, host of the Wicked Words podcast. Each week I sit down with the true crime writers behind some of the most compelling true crime stories and discuss their years spent investigating and why it still matters. He sees his father coming out of the woods with his hands over his face, and he knows something happened. His father just grabs him and says she's gone. She's gone.

These are the cases that leave survivors, families, and the journalists who cover them changed forever. Working in national television, it'll push you to your limits, and you'll end up doing things you never thought you'd do. You know, you look back at it and you're like, I can't believe that really happened.

Join me and step inside the investigation. New episodes drop every Monday on the exactly right network. Listen to wicked words on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Remember when you'd walk into your local video rental place and there were always those two employees behind the counter arguing about movies? Well, that's us.

I'm Millie de Cherico. And I'm Casey O'Brien. And now we're arguing about movies on our podcast, Dear Movies I Love You, from the Exactly Right Network. Can I say something about the criterion closet? Go ahead, dude. They're letting too many people in there. Okay.

That's another film, Gripe I got two. Sadly, that rental place doesn't exist anymore. It's probably a store that sells running shoes. Or an ice cream shop with an extra pee and an E at the end. So consider us your slacker movie clerks in podcast form. I would like to establish a timeline of the moment you figured out who Channing Tatum was. Every Tuesday, we dig into the movies we can't stop obsessing over, from hidden gems to big screen favorites. New episodes drop every week on the exactly right network.

Listen to Dear Movies I Love You on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Everyone knew who they were. But if you weren't from South Central, and if you weren't overrun by grief, and if you were to squint hard, you might be able to be duped into thinking they were just a small crew of fellow gangbangers, or at least affiliated. If not Roland's 60s Crips, then maybe some members from up north or elsewhere. Maybe the MGC crew or the Valley Hoods, but no, these dudes were obviously not street. They were too clean cut, no tats, no chains. And all of them were too uniformly in shape, bulking.

biceps visible from under their long sleeve flannels and sweatshirts. And one dude, even had his champion tucked into his jeans. Dead giveaway. Pigs. To those in attendance at the funeral for slain rapper Nipsey Hustle, it was no surprise. Nipsey rolled with gangbangers from way back. Despite his current standing in the community of South Central L.A., specifically the Crenshaw district, as an entrepreneur and activist, Nipsey, to some, still had some heat on his name. He was once, or still was, depending on who you asked, a member of the Roll in 60s Crips.

And that's what the plainclothes cops were interested in. They weren't buying the makeover. But thousands of others were. From mourners wearing Crenshaw shirts straight from Nipsey's Marathon Clothing Store in the neighborhood to Stevie Wonder, Snoop Dog, and more. Nipsey Hustle's last gig was half-somber send-off, half-farewell concert.

The crowd was so huge, the funeral had to be held at L.A. Staples Center, which made it easy for 5-0 to blend in with the masses. Nipsey's casket held the floor, surrounded by flowers and musical instruments as Stevie Wonder performed tears in heaven. Snoop remembered how when he met Nipsey that he didn't pitch him on making a million dollars like other rappers on the make were prone to do when they met Snoop. Nipsey just said, give it a listen.

After Snoop spoke to the crowd, DJ Battlecat played Nipsey Hustle's tracks at full blast and declared the day a celebration of life. Thousands of fans of Grammy-known activist Nipsey Hustle are in a state of shock today. They're warning. Brammy-nominated rapper to Rhapsor to Rhapsor of Nipsey Hustle. Thousands line the streets to say goodbye to rapper Nipsey Hustle. It's a tough one right here, man. First of all, I want to thank y'all for allowing me the opportunity to speak here today.

So we're a honey to be able to appear here and show love on behalf of my friend, my brother, a great man, a great leader, great father, a great teacher, and a great friend. Nipsey Hussein. NBA superstars, LeBron Jensen, Step 3. The shit's sad. I was born who passed away. This is fucked, man. It's real. I know what he is.

I know what he was. I'm going to end it like this. This man got a letter from Barack Obama. Nipsey Hustle's death shook his community to its core, and the size of the outpouring of grief was proof. Tribute letters from Kendrick Lamar and Barack Obama accompanied Jay-Z's printed remembrance in the funeral program. And after the show at the Staples Center, the hearse loaded with Nipsey Hustle's coffin, made a 25-mile winding journey through South Los Angeles, hitting all the major landmarks from the street where Nipsey grew up to the clothing store that had stood as an act of good

faith that Nipsey was an artist who was going to continue to give back to the community that shaped him. Hundreds more mourners lined the funeral parade route in a show of community respect. That respect for the young hip-hop artist was hard fought. In Crenshaw, the neighborhood he was from, knew it and loved him for it, and for all he did for the community. But investing back into his Crenshaw neighborhood came only after success was in hand. And that almost never happened. happened. 2009. Nipsey's work had been out on the street for a while. He'd been running with

the Crips since he was 15 years old and had one foot in the rap game at the same time, putting verses down on various tapes, pressing up posters and pasting them up all over the hood, making sure his name rang out not just as a treacherous thug, but also as something else, an MC, skilled with something to say. Tension between the pressures of gang life and the potential of a career as a musician came to a head and potential won out. Nipsey sold his car as bought studio gear, invested in himself, decided to go all in or as all in as he could.

And then the raid happened. Gang shit. LAPD had been watching him. They busted into the apartment he and his brother were staying at. Nipsey escaped to rest, but his brother wasn't so lucky. He went to jail. Nipsey left. lambed it, high-tailed it to Jamaica. His name rang out even louder on the streets as a result.

Epic Records came calling, and they wanted in on that real street shit, authentic, hard, the kind that went back by the talent and skills Nipsey had sold records. Nipsey made it back stateside and signed his first record deal. Epic saw the potential in Nipsey and they collaborated on two mixtapes with him, a series titled Bullets Ain't Got No Name, which was critically praised but didn't sell it the numbers Epic hoped for. Still, Nipsey knew his time would come and thanks to his label's confidence in him and financial backing, he continued working on a full-length release, South Central state of mind. But with label support came compromises. Epix money men would own Nipsey's masters. Nipsey had to sign away rights to his work. For an artist as smart as Nipsey

hustle, for an artist with the type of long-term vision he had, those kinds of standard industry terms didn't sit right. When Epic Records hit the skids in 2018 and was bought out by Capitol Records, Nipsey's instincts convinced him to bail. Nipsey had that antenna. The kind most want-to-be artists would kill for, the kind some artists take for granted, the kind that could find inspiration for a game-changing marketing plan by looking at a Philly cheese steak. That's right. The cheese steak made and sold by the Philadelphia restaurateur supposedly had Kobe beef in it, but still, Was it worth the $100 price tag? A $100 cheese steak sandwich?

Oprah thought so. She rolled into Barclay Prime and ponied up for one and then started giving them away, hyping restaurateur Stephen Starr in the process. David Letterman invited Star on a show. Rich dudes with angry attitudes toward local sports teams flocked to Barclay Prime and plopped down their MX cards to try this $100 sandwich. When the hype caught up to Nipsey Hustle, he got an idea. Major labels want to hold a whole.

money over his head while dictating the terms and owning the music he creates, screw that. Screw making an album at all. Make another mixtape, but only press a limited run of a thousand copies. Then make like the cheese steak guy and put an insane price tag on his creation to create hype. Voila, a $100 mixtape. It worked. The mixtape sold out less than a day.

Jay-Z got in touch and purchased a hundred of them for himself. $10,000 from the CEO, the ROC. and beyond the 10 racks for Nipsey, the hype was on. People had to hear that mixtape, and they did, and on it, his potential as an MC was evident. Now fully in control with his own record label, All Money In, Nipsey began releasing a new series of mixtapes, The Marathon. Featured artist included MGMT showing Nipsey's crossover appeal and potential to break into new markets. Soon, he was trading features with every other rapper in town, working with Jadikis, YG, Rick Ross, and an endless list of the latest hottest MCs and producers.

A whirlwind was growing around Nipsey Hustle, a hurricane of recognition and buzz. He was well-known and well-liked in powerful music industry circles, even as he had maintained his independence and creative control. Fittingly, he titled his first independent full-length album, Victory Lab. And not only did it finally break Nipsey onto the Billboard charts, but it would go on to be nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2018 Grammys. He lost to Cardi B, but the recognition brought Nipsey Hustle's talent to an even wider audience than ever before.

If anybody knew how to reap this whirlwind, to harness all of its unbridled potential, it was Nip. It was as if he knew that he only had a limited amount of time left. Neighbors, bones broken, panic shouts of shots fired, and two women with the bullet wounds to back it up. Police trying to police, getting nowhere fast on the scene of Nipsey Hustled Memorial Vigil outside his marathon clothing shop, the same spot that he had been gunned down on on the corner of Crenshaw and Slosson. The fight was unavoidable. Why and what the fuck for? This was Nipsey's

vigil. He'd been dead for a day. His community was torn up and in desperate need of a release. That's what the vigil was for, the potential to come together to commune not the potential for violence. The crowd was somber, votive candles covering the parking lot in front of marathon clothing. About 400 in attendance, spilling out under the sidewalk and into the street. LAPD was in attendance, uniform cops announcing their presence with authority on mass,

plainclosed cops moving through the crowd calmly, stealthly, eyes on everyone, eyes on waistbands, clocking for that familiar bulge. They missed it. Dude pulled his piece, had to prove that he was somebody, just like the fallen rap star, not just another bum from the neighborhood. And the peace proved it, or so he believed, little man that he was.

Someone in the crowd told him put that shit away. Words, angry words were exchanged. The situation went from innocuous to potentially deadly in mere seconds. Those in the immediate vicinity of the gunman, the little man, the man with the suffering ego, turned and walked away, back from marathon clothing and the votive candles and the speeches about community and reinvesting and making a difference, difference and out toward the street, away from what was about to be set off.

Then the first few who moved out did so quietly, nonchalant, but with unmistakable urgency, bumping shoulders with those in the crowd behind them, wondering what the quick exit was for. Someone said the word gun. Others in the crowd began to exit. Questions started flying. What the fuck was going on? Where's everyone going? The gum and the big man next to him, their words grew louder. The beef was now fully out in the open, with the peace, and the little man waved it, and all those around him in the crowd saw it, and someone yelled it out.

Then we'd everyone in the immediate vicinity of the gunman began to run, sprinting, knocking over those in their way with total disregard. Screams, the cops had no idea what was going on. The crowd moved en masse in every direction, scattering away from the central sight of the vigil as fast as they could. It was a stampede, mass panic, the sound of glass shattering, sirens screaming,

It's hovering, first responders hustling the injured off on stretchers. Cops descended to quell the riot, and their efforts were welcomed with flying rocks, bottles, etc. Ambulances, fire trucks, a blue wall of uniformed cops took position along the side of the street, guarding a nearby gas station and convenience store from potential looters. Eventually, the crowd dispersed and authorities got the situation under control. But not before two people were stabbed and 19 hospitalized. Before the night was over, more news. LAPD broke it.

There was a man hunt on for Nipsey Hustle's killer. Elle was taking him so long. She wanted to know. She could see Nipsey standing in front of his store, Marathon Clothing, and wanted a picture with the star. It was her idea. So how the hell did she end up waiting in the car while her boyfriend was out there talking to Nipsey?

She could hear what they were saying, sort of. Nipsey didn't look too pleased. Her boyfriend looked confused. Man, you know they got some paper on you. Paper. As in legal documents confirming one's status as a CI, a criminal informant, or as Nipsey in the streets he grew up on would interpret it. A snitch.

Nipsey was warning her man. Word was the courts had paper with her boyfriend's name on it, claiming he was indeed working for the cops. Fuck. She saw it right away. The look. The look in her boyfriend's eyes. Anger, fear, menace.

Nipsey waves him off. He stormed. way straight back toward her and her Chevy cruise. He jumped in. Drive. What? I want my picture with Nipsey. What happened? Drive, bitch. She had no idea how fast she was driving. The whole thing seemed to be happening in slow motion, an epic creep down the alley toward the street. The movement of her car and everything happening inside of it, the anger radiating off of her man, the mood, a feeling of not knowing what was happening next, of being set into motion by an unseen force. It was like one of those dreams where your physical movements are weighed down,

beyond your control, where it seems impossible to move in the direction you want to move, but something compels you, slowly, darkly. She turned right onto West Lawson, creep. He sat next to her, staring out the window at everything and nothing all at once. He was gone. He pulled a piece. She was shocked. A black semi-automatic. He yanked back the slide and waved the gun to the right, indicating that she was to turn right onto Crenshaw.

She did. He pulled out a second gun, a revolver, told her to make the right on the West 58th. And she did, and she knew it. The man next to him, like the points of the bullets in his gun, his heart was hollow. They caught the first right into the alley and wheeled the car up slow toward their previous parking spot aside the strip mall that housed Nipsey Hustle's Marathon Clothing. When they got close, she stopped. He bounced out of the car and stormed the parking lot,

straight up to Nipsey Hustle. Both guns blazing. He broke off over a dozen shots. Nipsey caught ten of them, one to the abdomen that ripped through his gut and severed his spine, another to the head. Nipsey looked up at a shooter. He got me for his last words.

Two others in the parking lot, along with Nipsey were also shot. The gunman bolted back to the car, dove into the passenger seat, and was in the wind, gone. Nipsey and his wounded friends were rushed to the hospital where Nipsey Hustle was almost immediately pronounced dead. Days after his vigil had gotten violent,

the LAPD put the shooter's name out on the street and the manhunt was on. His girl, the reluctant driver of his getaway car, and Nipsey Hustle fan, gave him up. The shooter was arrested days later. His future is currently, as of the recording of this podcast, with the courts, and Nipsey Hustle, and all the potential he had as an artist and an activist is gone. The parking lot of marathon clothing was swarming with Nipsey fans

and proud members of the Hyde Park community. The excited crowd was a hopeful mirror for the grieving crowds that would follow, a stark contrast to the violence that would erupt in the same location just two years later, when Nipsey would be killed and his visual would be disrupted, all in the span of a couple of days. But today was nothing but potential. June 17, 2017, it was Marathon Clothing's grand opening.

Nipsey's name out in the streets rang out as an entrepreneur, benefactor, and community activist. When he was 19, he had taken a trip with his father back to Eritrea, where his dad was from. He spent three months in the tiny East African country that had fought hard for independence. What he experienced there, changed him. He saw other people with dark skin like his running things and helping their community.

He returned to Crenshaw with a long-term marketing and community building plan that he referred to as the marathon. A marathon clothing was a whole new level in that race. It was the home stretch. Beaming with pride and backed by local radio DJ Big Boy, Nip wielded a pair of oversized scissors and cut the ceremonial ribbon. It was a ritual that's been performed over and over by small business owners and upstanding members of the local Chamber of Commerce all across America. This time, on the corner of Crenshaw and Slossin, it felt different. Chamber of Commerce types didn't come around these parts too often. And then the doors swung open, and the assembled hip-hop heads walked into a sleek,

state-of-the-art smart store. In addition to all the merch with Nipsy's brands and mixtape titles on them that line the shells, all money in, and Crenshaw logos on shirts, hoodies, sweats, customer service reps with iPads met with the first customers and explained the smart part of the store to them. Download the store's app, order items, receive exclusive new Nipsey tracks with your purchases. Next-gen retail here in the hood. Nipsey, as always, was an innovator, a marketing mad scientist with one eye towards the future. He had first met the app designer who partnered with him on the store while stopping at a local Starbucks with his daughter to buy her a unicorn fray.

It was fate or at least homegrown good luck. Nipsey and his coder shared a belief that there's opportunity everywhere, as long as you have your eyes open. In a year's time, Nipsey would partner up with another local entrepreneur, a real estate developer, and buy the entire building in which Marathon clothing was located. Because it wasn't just the hustle the Nip had going for him. It was his sense of his roots.

He knew where he came from, knew the darkest, hardest parts of home. He knew his neighborhood was, was full of kids with just as much potential as he had. If he could let one of those kids feel the same sense of possibility he felt when he was 13, when he first heard Machiavelli by Tupac. The album came out about two months after Pock had died, and 13-year-old Nipsey ate it up.

Soon he was into all things Death Row, Dre, Snoop, Dog Pound, Warren G, then it was Outcast, Jay, Biggie Knaz, Juvenile. He got pro tools on his computer and taught himself to use it. It was a way out for sure. But not that he'd never want to leave, he'd stay and help lift up the kids left behind by an economy that preferred easier investments. Kids navigating between gang violence,

kids who looked up to Nipsey now. Countless rappers leveraged that kind of background to escape American ghettos and then cut boasting tracks about their new penthouses and bling in bank accounts while they rub elbows with the Illuminati and maybe, maybe slap their name on a nonprofit or an activist organization to give back.

But Nipsey never left. Nipsey was south central to his core, total crunch shot. He didn't leave and come back like a conquering hero. He stayed and became a hometown hero, an arguably even harder title to earn. It was just like Snoop would say, standing before Nipsey's casket at the Staples Center two years later, Wannaby MCs were always slipping Snoop mixtapes

and promising to make him a million dollars. But all Nipsey said was, just give it a listen. His work spoke for itself. On the morning of the store opening, Nipsey was the master of all he surveyed. As all the folks from the neighborhood were downloading his app and discovering something new, for Nipsey, this felt like a culmination of years of hard work.

And that work did speak for itself. Before the store or marathon, the fashion label had already become the hottest brand in town, Crenshaw T-shirts visible in every park and basketball court. The day after his death, Nipsey had been scheduled to attend a meeting he had arranged with the LAPD and Jay-Z's Rock Nation to develop new ways to limit gang violence in South Central. On the other side of Hyde Park,

he had launched a co-working space, product incubator, and community development hub called Vector 90, true to his tech-savvy homegrown identity. And on the other side of Slossin from Marathon Clothing, at his old elementary school on 59th Street, Nipsey donated $10,000 to refinish the basketball courts. The same courts were the kids in his Crenshaw shirts now play. the same courts that he had played on back when he was just a youngen,

and the Cripps crew, the role in 60s, came calling. Nipsey was holding cord outside Marathon clothing, leaning against this brand new black jaguar F-type. The jag, much like his 600 bends, was a clear indication of how far he'd come, how hard he'd hustled to get here. With his feet firmly planted on the escalator of success, he was still in the hood, but that was by choice.

He was reinvesting and he wasn't going anywhere even though his come-up was in full effect. But right now, he was chilling, enjoying the easy Southern California springtime sunshine, talking shit with some neighborhood regulars. Out on Slossin, Nipsey couldn't help but noticed the slow-rolling 67 barracuda. Chopped low, its engine growled, menacing like a hungry big game cat. No doubt its slant six had been replaced by a big block. The car was mean, and so were its inhabitants. Inside, 60s, Crips, part of his old crew.

They nodded as they passed. Nipsey nodded back and thought back to his time with one of Crenshaw's strongest, most notorious gangs, the role in 60s Crips. Joining up didn't seem like much of a choice. By the time he was 14, he was on his own, out of his mom's house and living with his grandmother, but essentially left to fend for himself.

And in late 90s, Crenshaw, That meant fending off beatdowns in nearly every corner of your reality. High school football games, the malls, wherever. But by far, the worst were Crenshaw's alleys. A concrete maze of fear and violence. Removed from the main streets, the alleys offered privacy where treacherous thugs would attack for whatever reason they wanted. Walled in by the backsides of the neighborhood strip malls and apartments,

the alleys were beatdown central. And worse than that were the shooters. Who the fuck knew why, for fun for whatever, screwing through the neighborhood on your BMX bike while being unaffiliated with a gang was enough to get you shot. At the same time, as a youth, Nipsey was obsessed with music,

looking for any opportunity to make it. The harshness of his surroundings and lack of opportunity combined with the cold reality of simply needing to make money to survive as a child caused him to join up. It was join, die, or move. Those were the choices for a 14-year-old. The decision was easy, crew up, join.

But first, there would be the initiation. Like nearly every modern member before him, Nipsey needed to be jumped into the gang. In one of the alleys, of course, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, treacherous. The circle formed around him. Three older teenage members pulled in tight, and then from behind, the first punch. A wild blow cocked from way back, hard to the side of the head. Then, an unimaginable flurry of fists from the three-member squared circle, to the face, the back of the head, the chest, the gut, the back, all over again and again and again. And there is no set time for jump-ins.

Sure, some gangs hold fast to the 62nd rule, some less, some more. Sometimes you get a real mean, son of a bitch who really wants to put it on you and you fight till you fall and then the real beating starts. But most times, the fight lasts until you prove yourself, prove your metal, your steel. prove how real of a motherfucker you can be when shit gets tough, how well you can hang in the face of extreme violence, how far you can go to rep the gang, show that you can stand on your own so others will stand behind you. When the hurricane of violence passed,

he stumbled out of the alley out toward the street, through the paths on the back, through the words of welcoming and encouragement. He'd survived, and he'd survive worse now, he was certain. The sun was putting itself down for the night. Crenshaw was. was settling. The streets were emptying. Civilians were heading home for the evening, holding up their end of the bargain, making room for the gangbangers to do their thing.

Cars pulled into driveways, porch lights were turned on. Helicopters hummed up above, and the streets, relatively speaking, were peaceful. Nipsey sat on Crenshaw's curb, collected himself. He belonged. Not just to a gang, but to this neighborhood. It was home, and now, finally, he was protected in his home. He was moved to rhyme, if not out loud, in his head. Maybe now, now that he was with someone, now things would be different. Maybe now he can make some money, get some gear and get some rhymes down on tape. Maybe now he can make a name for himself, get on that rap game hustle. Nipsey picked his head up, looked down the street at some young bloods, 10, 11, just a few years younger than him. They were running away from where he was sitting, likely home for the night,

off the streets, hopefully, like him, toward their future. And Nipsey looked around him. It was beautiful, Crenshaw. It had so much potential, just like those kids, just like him. A potential that for Nipsey Hustle would never be fully realized. And that is a disgrace. I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Disgraceland. Disgraceland was created by yours truly and is produced in partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be found on the show notes page at disgracelandpod.com. If you're listening as a Disgraceland All Access member, thank you for supporting the show. We really appreciate it.

And if not, you can become a member right now by going to disgracelandpod.com slash membership. Members can listen to every episode of Disgraceland ad-free. Plus, you'll get one brand new exclusive episode every month. unscripted bonus episodes, special audio collections, and early access to merchandise and events. Visit disgracelampod.com slash membership for details. Rate and review the show and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook at Disgraceland Pod, and on YouTube at YouTube.com slash at Disgraceland Pod. This season on Dear Chelsea, with me, Chelsea Handler, we have some fantastic guests, like Amelia

Clark. When, like, young people come up to me and they won't. want to be an actor or whatever. And my first thing is always, can you think of anything else that you can do? You'd rather be disappointed in. Do that. David O'Yelloo. I love this podcast, whether it's therapy or relationships or religion or sex or addiction or

you just go straight for the guts. Dennis Leary, Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things, Tena Monjou, Camilla Morone, Carrie Kenny Silver, and more. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Movies can make you feel, make you dream. Sometimes they even make you appreciate architecture. Is there anybody who's been hotter in a doorway than Elizabeth Taylor? That's the kind of analysis you'll find every week on Dear Movies I Love You, the new podcast from the Exactly Right Network.

Every Tuesday, we break down the films we're crushing on from blockbusters to deep cuts. Listen to Dear Movies I Love You on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sometimes a suspect is found guilty before a verdict is ever read in court. On the Wicked Words podcast, I talk with the writers who dig deep into the cases that changed history, including Marsha Clark, who went from prosecuting one of the most famous murder cases to writing crime fiction. It doesn't matter that you didn't take part in the murder. If you were at the scene at all, you're guilty of murder. Every week, the real story is revealed. Join us every Monday for new episodes of Wicked Words. Listen to Wicked Words on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.