Nipsey Hussle, born Ermias Ashghedom, was a father, artist and serial entrepreneur who was tragically taken from this world on March 31, 2019. The late rapper was also involved in a number of community efforts including Our Opportunity, an initiative geared towards rebuilding Black neighborhoods, Destination Crenshaw, an open air cultural museum, and Too Big to Fail, a community program that trained Black and Brown youth in STEM and connected them to opportunities in the field. Today, we remember what would’ve been the prolific rapper’s 34th birthday in his own words. Below are a list of 10 quotes from Hussle to motivate, inspire and keep going.
“I’m about seeing long-term, seeing a vision, understanding nothing really worthwhile happens overnight, and just sticking to your script long enough to make something real happen.”
“Most important thing is to get rid of doubt. If you got doubt in what you’re doing it’s not gonna work.”
“You’ve got to have faith in what you’re doing and not take no for an answer.”
“Without a game plan and without a strong sense of faith in what you’re doing, it’s gonna be real hard to accomplish anything.”
“My thing is that I don’t give no person that much power over my path that I’m walking. Not one person can make or break what I’m doing, except me or God.”
“We’re not the cause, we’re the effect.”
“If you don’t know your full-throttle history, the whole story of how you came to where you are, it’s kind of hard to put things together.”
“It’s possible to monetize your art without compromising the integrity of it for commerce.”
“I call it ‘dropping the rope’. You’ve got to drop a rope. Everybody got to climb up, but you gotta drop the rope.”
“I’d rather invest in real estate — invest in some assets as opposed to trick all my money in diamonds and cars — it look good but at the end of the day you’re losing value. It ain’t appreciating, it’s depreciating. (I’m trying to get) a real asset. Take care of my people.”
May we all embody the values, spirit and commitment to our community that Hussle possessed. Rest Well Nipsey Hussle. The Marathon Continues.
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