'He Came Back To Help Out': Rapper Nipsey Hussle Was On Mission To Give Back Before Tragic Death
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Rapper Nipsey Hussle was on a mission, after making it big in the music world, his childhood friend Danielle Jakes says.
"Most people who make it, they don't come back," she said. "He came back. He came back to help out."
Hussle was gunned down Sunday outside the clothing store he opened in 2017 -- Marathon Clothing in the Hyde Park neighborhood, south of the Crenshaw area where he was born and grew up. It was one of the most recent ventures he was involved in to give back to his community.
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"He never forgot where he came from, that's what he didn't do. He never forgot where he came from," Jakes said emphatically.
Jakes says she and the rapper had remained friends even after their time at Alexander Hamilton High School. She was among the friends and family who went to California Hospital Medical Center in downtown Los Angeles, where Hussle was pronounced dead.
"He was always humble, nice, loved to have a good time, you know," she said. "That's who he was."
Hussle, by all measures of success, had made it in the music world. He had been nominated this year for best rap album at the Grammy Awards and had worked with artists such as Drake, Childish Gambino, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar and Snoop Dogg. He was recently featured in an one-on-one interview with CBS2's Pat Harvey.
But it wasn't enough. Besides opening the clothing store, Hussle had recently opened an apartment building for low-income families and a barbershop. Jakes says the world has lost a good family man who was also incredibly talented.
"All that gang-banging stuff, that's craziness," Jakes said. "Love. That's what he was, love."