One was rapper/entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle.
The other was a film director John Singleton.
Nipsey Hussle, John Singleton
(photo credit: Twitter.com/NipseyHussle ; George Pimentel)
1) Nipsey Hussle
Nipsey Hussle was born with the name Ermias Joseph Asghedom as the son of an Eritrean immigrant. He grew up in Crenshaw, a community in Los Angeles notorious for gang violence. He joined the Crips gang as a teenager but later decided that he would be better doing a more legal hustle as he transitioned to adulthood.He started making records in the 00's decade, at a time when the bulk of the attention in the hip-hop world moved away from West Coast gangsta rap and towards the South (especially Atlanta). At that point, The Game was seen as the last major gangsta rapper from LA. Being an independent recording artist, he didn't have to worry about pandering to major label record executives who want guaranteed hits. Instead, he worked at slowly building his audience from the underground.
By the 10's decade, some attention came back to the West Coast, with the rise of Kendrick Lamar and YG. Nipsey Hussle already built enough of an audience that he could make a good living without pandering to mainstream radio.
YG and Nipsey Hussle came together to make a classic track of political defiance "FDT", which stands for "F--- Donald Trump". That track was released in 2016 when Donald Trump was running for president. The song was a unity track between Bloods & Crips, but also between African-Americans and Latinos. Both YG and Nipsey Hussle grew up around Latinos and weren't going to stay silent when the Latino immigrant community was being slandered by Trump and his supporters.
He also had some side entrepreneurial ventures focusing on expanding opportunities in his home community of Crenshaw. He opened a fashion store (Marathon Clothing), then later bought out the plaza the store was located in. He invested in affordable rental units in his community. He also encouraged young African-Americans to embrace STEM education being that much of the world's future is based on computer technology.
His devotion to the community made him well-loved by many. Unfortunately, his success also breeds envy among those who felt left behind. This gets magnified in that many rappers who earn millions become easy targets for people from their childhood community who are still struggling economically.
from the New York Times
Joe Coscarelli, “For Nipsey Hussle and Rap’s Thriving Middle Class, Staying Close to Home Can Have a Price,” New York Times, April 4, 2019,
“Sometimes keeping it real is too much,” Wack said. “When you’re that accessible, that common, then it becomes easy to get to you and easy to plot on you.”
For other rappers who looked to Hussle’s career as a blueprint, his killing has resulted in increased paranoia and anxiety.Mozzy, a Sacramento rapper who frequently wrestles with the consequences of his gang ties in music and interviews, said that Hussle “was supposed to be untouchable,” and represented the aspirational “big dog” in his lane “as far as being a gangster rapper and trying to transition into being a mogul and a role model.”
“I ain’t going to lie, I’m kind of shaking right now,” Mozzy said, having recently had a “mini-altercation” in his own neighborhood. He cited the fatalistic advice of the Louisiana rap veteran Boosie: “Most rappers die in their own city,” and added: “Every day you’re taking one of the biggest risks of your life by being a rapper and living in your community, or continuing to pull up there. But you take that risk out of a love for the people.”
more articles on Nipsey Hussle
Zoe Zorka, “Remembering the Business of Nipsey Hussle: From Entertainer to Entrepreneur,” The Source, April 2, 2019, http://thesource.com/2019/04/02/remembering-the-business-of-nipsey-hussle-from-entertainer-to-entrepreneur/
Damon Brown, “The Late Rapper Nipsey Hussle Was a Savvy entrepreneur. This Was His Secret to Success,” The INC, April 1, 2019
https://www.inc.com/damon-brown/the-powerful-secret-rapper-nipsey-hussle-knew-about-entrepreneurship.html
2) John Singleton
John Singleton is a prominent director known for his films focusing on the various aspects of African-American life.
His debut film "Boyz N The Hood" was his most well-known film. The film focused on 3 young African-American males growing up in Crenshaw. They started out as childhood friends but as they transitioned to late adolescence, they started to go in different directions, even as they maintained their friendship. Cuba Gooding's (Tre) character was an academic achiever headed for college. Morris Chestnut's (Ricky) character was the jock who wanted a football scholarship but was struggling to get qualified academically. Ice Cube's character (Doughboy) became a gang member with no known legal aspirations. The movie had its humorous moments, but it had a more serious tone as the 3 main characters had to deal with the fear & tragedy that comes with the violent environment they were growing up in.
The film's success inspired other "hood movies" like Menace to Society, South Central, and Master P's "I'm Bout It" that all focus being an adolescent/young adult in poverty-stricken, crime-ridden communities.
There was much more to John Singleton than just "hood movies".
His next "Poetic Justice" was a romance movie that featured singers Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur. It was Janet Jackson's first movie role and it showed Tupac Shakur in a role that had nothing to do with "Thug Life".
His later films included Higher Learning (which focused on racial tensions on a college campus), Rosewood (which focused on KKK attacks on African-American communities in the Jim Crow era), and Baby Boy (Tyrese portrayed an unemployed young man still living with his mother whose new boyfriend just got out of prison).
Singleton also made the 2000's updated version of the cult classic Shaft, as well as 2 Fast, 2 Furious.
John Singleton was considered to direct the 2pac's biopic "All Eyez on Me", but was later dropped from the project. There were rumors that he was fired because 2pac's family was offended by some of his ideas for what to add to the film.
In his last few years, Singleton focused more on TV, with a documentary on the LA Riots (L.A. Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later) and TV series Snowfall (on the crack trade in the 1980s).
In April of this year, John Singleton suffered a stroke. He passed away a few days later. He was 51 years old.
articles on John Singleton's impact on the world of film
Ann Hornaday, “John Singleton Helped Redefine American Pop Culture, and His Impact Is Still Being Felt Today,” Washington Post, April 29, 2019,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/john-singleton-helped-redefine-american-pop-culture-and-his-impact-is-still-being-felt-today/2019/04/29/1b763d8a-6aab-11e9-8f44-e8d8bb1df986_story.html
Bryan Alexander, “Appreciation: How John Singleton's Stunning, Singular 'Boyz n the Hood' Changed Hollywood,” USA Today, April 29, 2019,
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2019/04/29/john-singleton-boyz-n-hood-filmmaker-appreciation/3616782002/
S. Mitra Kalita, “John Singleton Directed This Scene That Changed My Life,” CNN, April 29, 2019,
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/29/opinions/john-singleton-directed-this-scene-that-changed-my-life-kalita/index.html
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This article on John Singleton's stroke and hypertension and on how those two medical conditions affect African-Americans at a high rate, as written by Terry Neal, an African-American writer diagnosed with hypertension
Terry Neal, “John Singleton’s Art, and His Death, Are All Too Familiar to Black Men,” Washington Post, May 3, 2019,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/05/03/john-singletons-art-his-life-is-all-too-familiar-black-men/?utm_term=.945818850eb0&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1
