Los Angeles City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson announced the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and West Slauson Avenue in South Los Angeles – where Nipsey Hussle was killed — will officially be named “Nipsey Hussle Square.”
Harris-Dawson made the announcement on Tuesday (April 9) via Twitter.
“This week, I will officially submit a motion to name the intersection of #Crenshaw and #Slauson as ‘Nipsey Hussle Square,'” he tweeted. “#NipseyHussle.”
Harris-Dawson followed up with a statement obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
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“Ermias Asghedom known as ‘Nipsey Hussle’ was an icon and West Coast hero,” Harris-Dawson said. “Nipsey’s genuine nature allowed him to be a light to everyone he interacted with from family, friends, fans, and his larger community.
“As a father, brother, and son, Nipsey was a rock helping to build an empire that will continue through generations. Nipsey will always be remembered for delivering a pure, authentic Los Angeles sound, his numerous philanthropic efforts, his innovative, community-focused business mindset, and his humble heart.”
Following Nipsey’s March 31 shooting death, a petition was launched to have the intersection named in his honor. As of publication time, the petition has garnered nearly 500,000 signatures. Harris-Dawson will make the motion on Friday (April 12) to rename the intersection.
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[This article has been updated. The original version was published on April 3, 2019 and can be found below.]
Nipsey Hussle’s unexpected shooting death is still reverberating throughout not only the Hip Hop community but also the entire city of Los Angeles. During a recent press conference, LAPD chief Michel Moore revealed he was shocked when he realized Nip had been killed.
“I saw the name Nipsey Hussle, and I looked at that again, and I looked at it again, and it was like I could not believe it,” he said. “This is a voice that was trying to help.”
A Twitter user pointed out it takes a special kind of person to be mourned by the LAPD, Bloods, Crips and Eses.
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To honor Neighborhood Nip, the Najee Ali Foundation launched a petition to urge L,A. Councilman Harris-Dawson to rename the intersection of Crenshaw Blvd. and Slauson Ave — which is near Nip’s Marathon Clothing store and where the murder occurred — Nipsey Hussle Blvd.
As of publication time, the petition has been signed over 323,000, marking Change.Org’s largest music-related spike in the platform’s history.
Ali said he started the petition because he “knew Nipsey Hussle personally. He wasn’t just a rapper. He was a community icon.”
Nipsey died on Sunday (March 31) after suffering multiple gunshot wounds. The alleged killer, Eric Holder, was arrested on Tuesday (April 2).
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Although Nip was affiliated with the Rolling 60s Crips, Moore believes it wasn’t a gang-related incident.
“The aspect of the nature of the dispute, to our information, is not anything relative to rivalries between gangs, but rather a dispute between these two individuals,” he said.
Holder’s bail has been set at $7,040,000.
Sign the petition here.
