Nipsey Island

Unless you have been sleeping under a rock then you may have heard of the passing of Nipsey Hussle, most known as a rapper but much more than that. And unless you went to Coachella or have Amazon Prime, then you may have not seen the next film by Donald Glover called “Guava Island”. In my tweet I talked about how both of these things resonated with me in the same way. Deni Maroon is the fictional character in Guava Island. He is a local celebrity, loved by the whole island truly a man of his people on a mission to bring them at least one day of peace and enjoyment with his musical festival ignoring all bribes and threats to cancel it. Much like Deni, Nipsey Hussle is the epitome of “The People’s Champ”. He is from Compton, California and despite his success he still lives there. He is also a business and entrepreneur and instead of starting business in areas that are more financially affluent, his main clothing store was on the street he grew up on. He really bought back most of his own street. He would hire friends and other people that may not be able to get work due to criminal records or other circumstances. Was known to pay for funeral costs and other expenses of people in the neighborhood. Every one speaks of him in the same way and only has the utmost respect and love for him. Everything he did was for his community and for the people he loved. His mission was to empower his people. And yet, he was killed by one of his own. A man from the neighborhood he grew up in. They say success breeds envy. That’s what drove this senseless act of hate that led Nipsey Hussle to be murdered. Well known in life his message was spread, but in death, like Deni in Guava Island after he was murdered, his message and his words have been spread so far and wide. People that didn’t know of him and the work that he was doing now do and his reach has been amplified ten fold in death. Not that he was a great musician, he was also Grammy nominated, but his music is unparalleled to the work that he was doing and the man that he was but even now I mourn but then I see how so many people have come together and rallied behind his name in the sake of people and a better tomorrow. That’s the the good feeling I get and it feels just like when the exact thing happens at the end of Guava Island. His body may not be present but his energy is here and it’s up to us to make his work live on.