Nipsey Hussle Memorial Service Preparations Underway
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The stage is set for the memorial service for rap artist Nipsey Hussle.
Staples Center is booked. Organizers are expecting a massive crowd for the man who meant so much to his community.
The memorial service is scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m.
The only other time a memorial service was held at the Staples Center was for Michael Jackson. That service took place July of 2009.
"He provided a glimmer of hope to those kids that you can be a business owner. You can be a successful rapper. You don't have to go down this road of violence and gang life," said attorney Lauren Noriega.
Noriega served with Hussle on an advisory board of a nonprofit group called Unlock Tomorrow. Their goal is to help young people who just got out of prison get their life straightened out.
"It's not something that he went around bragging and boasting about. These are things that he really believed in and so I think that all of that is coming to light and on a bigger scale people are realizing what a huge effect he had on his community," said Noriega.
The family announced that after the Celebration of Life there will be a long procession, some 20 to 25 miles, through the streets of South LA -- places that were important to him. Along the way they will pass by The Marathon Clothing store that Hussle owned and where he was murdered.
"It is my hope and expectation that faith leaders and community advocates and organizers and our grid resources and the mayor's crisis response teams, all individuals from each of those entities, will provide, as we've seen at the vigil over this last week. That those will be important peace keepers and organizers to help allow people to grieve and attend those events without unnecessarily involving a police presence," said LAPD Police Chief Michel Moore.
The family and Staples Center are expected to provide soon the details of the service such as what it will entail and how long it will last and exactly the route that the procession will take.
Authorities are advising to stay away from Staples Center if you don't have the special ticket that was received online.
The family is requesting that no media be allowed in so there will be no live coverage of the event.