Nipsey Hussle Started Foundation To Give Back To His Community Before Death

Nipsey Hussle was a man of the people, and one of his last acts was starting a foundation to give back to his Crenshaw neighborhood.

Sources close to the late rapper and activist's family recently told TMZ he was in the "process of creating a foundation designed to improve the quality of life in his community" — primarily for young people — and he was "laying the groundwork" for it before his murder.

According to the entertainment news site, Nipsey's vision for his foundation was to improve public parks, work with schools to rebuild playgrounds, and create more STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs for students. The 33-year-old rapper had reportedly already begun working on a few of the projects with Los Angeles Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who told TMZ Nipsey had recently donated shoes to kids at a local elementary school and repaved the basketball courts there as well.

While Nipsey's foundation is still without a name, his family is reportedly making it their top priority to pick up right where he left off and continue his work to better South Los Angeles.

As fans know, Nipsey was a leader in his community. He worked to prevent gang violence, he'd recently helped launch Vector 90 — a Crenshaw district based STEM learning center and workspace dedicated to developing science and technology education in the area, and, ironically, he was scheduled to meet with the Los Angeles Police Department to discuss ways to end gang violence in South Los Angeles the day after he was murdered.

In the weeks since Nipsey's death, an intersection in his neighborhood has been renamed in his honor, his philanthropic efforts became a part of United States History, and a number of murals have sprouted up across Crenshaw to memorialize everything Nipsey stood for. Not only that, former President Barack Obama sent a letter to Nipsey's family acknowledging his great works for his community.

"I've never met Nipsey but I've heard his music through my daughters," read part of the letter. "While most folks look at the Crenshaw neighborhood where he grew up and see only gangs, bullets, and despair, Nipsey saw potential. He saw hope."

"His choice to invest in that community rather than to ignore it ... set an example for young people to follow ... [and] is a legacy worthy of celebration," the letter continued. "I hope his memory inspires more good work in Crenshaw."

Nipsey was killed on March 31 in front of his Marathon clothing store.

Photo: Getty Images


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