THE MARATHON DON'T STOP

The first full biography of the multifaceted entrepreneur, committed philanthropist, and rising rap star.

Before his tragic murder in 2019, Nipsey Hussle (born Ermias Asghedom in 1985), who was already a fixture in the hip-hop community, was destined for a mainstream breakthrough year. In 2018, after a series of well-received mixtapes, he released his debut studio album, Victory Lap, a critical success that showcased how to transcend expectations and transform one’s environment—in Nipsey’s case, the violent streets of South Central Los Angeles, “a once-thriving Black neighborhood blighted by decades of divestment and a policy known as redlining that amounted to real estate apartheid.” As veteran music journalist Kenner shows in his welcome dissection of a complex artist and activist, Nipsey, through his talented lyricism, was able to envision and actualize a brighter future that would feature persistent progress, constant evolution, and holistic self-improvement. In the same shopping-center parking lot where his crew had once engaged in illicit activities to survive a landscape without opportunity, they were now providing jobs and opportunities. Their flagship Marathon Clothing store and Vector90, the business incubator and STEM youth space, offered models to the entire hip-hop world about what it meant to be fully committed to one’s community. The Eritrean American rapper, alongside his real and chosen brothers, made it clear how to “get it straight up out the mud” through grit and principled action. Kenner, a founding editor of Vibe who covered his subject’s hard-earned success for more than a decade, smoothly pulls together many of the relationships, influences, and avenues of study that made Nipsey one of Black music’s beacons of hope. His signature tagline, “The Marathon continues…,” stood for endurance, and it is still widely used by his many fans. As Nipsey raps on a track from Victory Lap, “It’s all I’m tryna do: hustle and motivate.”

A well-executed recognition of the dynamic presence and unrelenting impact of a hip-hop legend gone too soon.