Kevin Wurm | Photography

At Public Square Park, purple lights highlighting the Davidson County Public Building and Courthouse, Nashville locals memorialize the life of an activist, community leader, and Grammy-nominated musician from Crenshaw, California with held hands and lit candles. Two blocks away from Nipsey Hussle’s grassroots-organized memorial vigil, a fundraiser is held at the Musician’s Hall of Fame. The impact of the artist’s message is not lost on the ears of Music City’s hoi polloi.

Blue flags and custom-made T-shirts, black berets, and suits and slacks blend together in song and celebration around an arrangement of lights in the shape of “NIP.” Eritrean flags line the backs of attendees honoring the rapper’s heritage. Behind a podium, representatives of various Nashville groups speak to the audience; a member of Gideon’s Army proclaims,

Blue flags and custom-made T-shirts, black berets, and suits and slacks blend together in song and celebration around an arrangement of lights in the shape of “NIP.” Eritrean flags line the backs of attendees honoring the rapper’s heritage. Behind a podium, representatives of various Nashville groups speak to the audience; a member of Gideon’s Army proclaims,

This brother, he [brought] Raymond Washington’s vision back to life [in terms of] establishing what ‘crip’ was really designed to be, which is to empower the community as well as heal and unite the community…Is that the torch that we carry? Or are we carrying the torch of Andrew Delke who killed Daniel Hambrick over here on Jo Johnston?

Offering hope, he answers with,

We choose to pick up the torches of love and continue the vision of Nipsey Hussle. Because we know it’s a marathon and it ain’t no sprint. And we in it for the distance. Long live Nipsey Hussle.

“This brother, he [brought] Raymond Washington’s vision back to life [in terms of] establishing what ‘crip’ was really designed to be, which is to empower the community as well as heal and unite the community…Is that the torch that we carry? Or are we carrying the torch of Andrew Delke who killed Daniel Hambrick over here on Jo Johnston?”

Offering hope, he answers with,

”We choose to pick up the torches of love and continue the vision of Nipsey Hussle. Because we know it’s a marathon and it ain’t no sprint. And we in it for the distance. Long live Nipsey Hussle.”

—a nod to Nipsey’s Marathon Clothing store that sits in a Nipsey-owned strip mall, and the Marathon Agency, a Nipsey-owned digital marketing company. His business creation extends to Destination Crenshaw, an open-air exhibit flaunting “1.3 miles of art and culture celebrating black L.A,” and Vector 90, an organization that offers STEM initiatives in underprivileged neighborhoods.

Another speaker from Gideon’s army says,

We are not bitches and thugs, we are gods and goddesses….His rap was like poetry. ‘Prolific, so gifted, I’m the type to go get it.’ His words touch the souls of us in the hoods, dealing with everyday-struggle pains. His message was clear as glass.

Trey brought his infant son,

to show respect, show support for a good dude.

Key and Kay came out,

to uplift the community, to get back focus.

61-year old Madge, homeless advocate on the board of Open Table and four-time cancer survivor, rode the bus from Antioch to encourage people to,

hug somebody, show somebody, uplift them. Stop shooting them down….Just encourage each other, I don’t care who it is. Grab somebody by the hand. You know that dude got a hard way. I don’t care even if it’s a schoolkid, you know how it is, go home, tell your mother about it, see if y’all can buy him a pair of pants…But just lift him up, invite him to dinner…It don’t cost you nothin’ to smile and give them a compliment.

Po’ Boys and Poets

offer their own pieces of verse, and the night ends with a prayer as those in attendance encompass the park in a human circle.

A breezy, peaceful night in the state capital paying homage to a West Coast inspiration. As the legacy of Nipsey Hussle lives through his activity as a community leader, his message transcends the afterlife through his music.

"They killed Dr. Sebi, he was teachin’ health

I fuck with Rick Ross ’cause he teachin’ wealth
Dropped out of school, I’ma teach myself
Made my first mil’ on my own, I don’t need your help
All black Tom Ford, it’s a special evenin’
City council meetin’, they got Hussle speakin’
Billion dollar project bout to crack the cement

So one of our investments had become strategic…"

"…Summer roll ’18, man it’s such a season

Bout to make more partners look like fuckin’ geniuses
We was in the Regal, it was me and Steven
We done took a dream and turned it to a zenith
Anything I want and everything I needed
Gotta pace yourself, it’s all about yo’ breathin’
You can have it all, it’s all about your reason

I done took my name and carved it in the cement."

-Nipsey Hussle