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Iverson was a major influence on Hussle growing up and the rapper once recalled telling Iverson how much the former All-Star meant to him and that his crossover on Michael Jordan in 1997 changed his life.Ī post shared by Allen Iverson remember guarding him one time. NBA Hall of Famer Allen Iverson also saluted Hussle, another demonstration of the decadeslong connections between basketball and hip-hop that go back to records such as Kurtis Blow’s “Basketball” or the collaboration between Shaquille O’Neal and The Notorious B.I.G.
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James reposted her, wishing his friend “Happy C Day.” Labelmate and friend Cobby Supreme referred to him as a “ Street legend,” while Snoop Dogg simply reflected that he missed Hussle’s smile. “Missing you is just apart of my DNA and I wear it with honor,” wrote his companion Lauren London. Social media flooded with tributes to the late entrepreneur and activist. Hussle’s presence rang loud on what would have been his 36th birthday on Aug. “That’s something I try to keep alive because he’s somebody that I feel like … he’s still here just because I can hear his voice every day.” Thomas also says he periodically revisits old conversations he had with Hussle via text message and direct message.
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I say ‘top of the top’ on Twitter,” said Thomas, echoing one of Hussle’s common greetings. LeBron James wears a shirt as a tribute to Nipsey Hussle during a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors at the Staples Center on April 4, 2019. Earlier this month, Russell Westbrook, James’ new Los Angeles Lakers teammate and one of Hussle’s closest friends, posted a video on Instagram of the LA native back home and rapping to Hussle’s “Ain’t Hard Enough” and “Grinding All My Life.” Westbrook, as many remember, painted a moving tribute to Hussle just days after his death by posting only the second 20-20-20 triple-double in NBA history, a nod to Hussle’s affiliation with the Rollin’ 60s Crips.įor Isaiah Thomas, who met Hussle when he was in college at the University of Washington and had the rapper perform at his 2011 draft party, invoking Hussle’s name is a daily occurrence. In February, LeBron James, as he’d done in the past, previewed Hussle and Jay-Z’s “What It Feels Like” collaboration from the Judas and the Black Messiah soundtrack. In just the past year, the evidence of Hussle’s continued influence and connection to the NBA has played out in multiple ways. But in every case, they recognized a young Black man like themselves who had talent and moved past the statistics to manifest his own destiny. In other cases, it was based on mutual respect and admiration for Hussle’s endeavors both in the booth and as a businessman and philanthropist in his neighborhood. James Harden wears a Nipsey Hussle shirt on the sideline on June some players, such as DeMar DeRozan, their connection to the Grammy-nominated rapper started with their shared origins growing up in South Los Angeles.