Nipsey Hussle left a legacy for the masses. On March 31st, 2019, the 33-year-old rapper
was shot and killed outside of his Marathon Clothing store in Los Angeles. The following
year, he posthumously won two Grammy awards for Best Rap Performance for his feature on
DJ Khaled's "Higher" as well as his own track, "Racks in the Middle." Hussle was a leader,
an activist, and the voice of real change in his community and the industry. His influence
touched lives on every level, and his death hit many fans hard. But the person likely
impacted most deeply was his longtime love, actor Lauren London.
"Where did we first meet and what did I think of you the first time we met?"
"She was head over heels sprung from day one."
"He got this wrong."
The couple met in 2013 when London stopped by Hussle's store to pick up his newest, limited-release
mixtape. Sparks immediately flew — and the chance encounter quickly turned into an Instagram
following that transformed into a modern-day love story. London shared with GQ just months
before Hussle died,
"Our stories are very different. I did not slide into his DMs. My homeboy did."
Each was enjoying success in their respective realms of music and acting, when London became
pregnant with their son. Deciding to temporarily step back from her career in order to focus
on her family, she recalled with the outlet,
"Do I choose my soul or myself? I went with my soul."
Together with Hussle's daughter, Emani Dior , and London's son, Kameron, they became a
tight-knit family of five after the birth of Kross, in 2016.
But what appeared to be a fairytale romance was not without its rough patches. According
to Revolt in 2017, Hussle revealed that he and London had actually broken up. At the
time, he tweeted,
"[Lauren] and I had a dope relationship and made a beautiful child. We are deciding to
separate and raise our son together as the main priority."
But the break wouldn't last for long. Just a few months later, in February 2018, London
was by Hussle's side as he released what would be his only studio album, Victory Lap. And
by 2019, the two were brushing off rumors from TMZ that they were engaged. Hussle clapped
back on Twitter about a photoshoot they did together:
"IT AIN'T [an] engagement shoot. […] It's a [GQ magazine] shoot [with] my girl."
But almost in a blink of an eye, tragedy struck. After Hussle's death, London posted to Instagram,
"I am completely lost. I've lost my best friend. My sanctuary. My protector. My soul. […] I'm
lost without you. We are lost without you babe. I have no words."
"Never was I prepared for anything like this, so bear with me y'all."
London would later put spoken words to her grief, sharing with the massive gathering
of mourners who attended Hussle's funeral,
"I've never felt this type of pain before. [He] said you can't possess people, you can
only experience them. And I'm so grateful I got to experience such a man. Grief is the
final act of love. My heart hears you. I feel you everywhere. I'm so grateful that I had
you."
"I love you beyond this earth. And until we meet again, the marathon continues."
More than two years later, London has been focusing on spending time with her family
and caring for herself. And she has reached out to other women who have also lost loved
ones to gun violence. She explained on Red Table Talk in June 2020,
"Trauma feels so lonely and just in talking to [these women], they gave me so much more
than I feel like I gave to them. They gave me just their stories and just their rawness,
and it made me feel not so alone. It was magical. It was very healing."
"There is life after this life. It's not easy. I don't always wake up on the enlightened
side of the bed."
London has also had to shut down buzz that she's looking for love again. When rumors
surfaced about her possibly dating Diddy, she replied in a series of Instagram posts:
"Forever, and even after, call me Lady Hussle. Still his! […] Never forget!"
She went even further on her Instagram Stories, pleading with the media to stop commenting
on her personal situation, writing,
"Stop f---ing with me and my name. Now let me get back to healing. I'm all love and peace
but never forget […] I'm a woman in grief and I don't play about Nip, my family, my
character and code."
"In Hussle's words…"
"It's not on you, it's in you. And what's in you they can't take away, and he's in all
of us."
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