Family Reflects on Nipsey Hussle as Crenshaw and Slauson Becomes Nipsey Hussle Square

PublishedMarch 1, 2026

LOS ANGELES — Family members, close friends, elected officials and community supporters gathered Saturday Feb. 28th 2026 at the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and Slauson Avenue to honor the late rapper, entrepreneur and community advocate Nipsey Hussle during a ceremony dedicating the corner as Nipsey Hussle Square.

The event began around 10:30 a.m. as members of Hussle’s family arrived at the podium area surrounded by security, including members of the Nation of Islam and leader Tony Muhammad. Community members from the Eritrean diaspora carried Eritrean flags toward the stage, acknowledging Hussle’s heritage and the cultural pride he often expressed publicly.

Hussle, born Ermias Asghedom, the son of an Eritrean father and Creole/African-American mother, was widely known not only for his music but for his investments in South Los Angeles and his commitment to community development around the Crenshaw corridor.

Among those attending were California Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Los Angeles City Councilmember Heather Hutt, along with community leaders, artists and longtime supporters.

Artwork from local creators lined parts of the ceremony space, including pieces from artists connected to the neighborhood. Among them was art displayed by community members including artist and former Black Panther Muhammad Mubarak, reflecting the intersection’s long history as a cultural hub in South Los Angeles. Speakers throughout the ceremony emphasized Hussle’s reputation for being present for those around him — whether family, children, business partners or neighbors.

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“Nip was someone who showed up,” his sister, Samantha Smith, told the crowd. “He showed up for his kids, he showed up for his family — he just showed up. It’s important that we show up for him and that we show up for ourselves.”

Hussle’s longtime partner, actress Lauren London, spoke briefly, sharing a memory that drew emotional reactions from the audience.

London said that when she and Hussle would drive through the intersection of Crenshaw and Slauson together, he often spoke about the future he envisioned for the area.

“He would say, ‘You know, Boogie, one day they are going to name this whole intersection after me,’” London recalled.

Also speaking was Kameron Carter, the son of London and rapper Lil Wayne, who reflected on the emotional difficulty of returning to the intersection after Hussle’s death.

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Carter said that passing by Crenshaw and Slauson in the years following Hussle’s killing had been painful for him and others close to the family.

“It was hard for me to drive past here after Nipsey passed,” Carter told the crowd. “But seeing everyone gather here today for Nipsey Hussle Square makes me happy, because I know that’s what he would have wanted.”

For family members, the ceremony was both a public celebration of Hussle’s legacy and a deeply personal moment of remembrance.

His mother, Angelique Smith, reflected on her son’s personality and daily habits, describing him as respectful and deeply compassionate. She recalled mornings when she would stay at the home he shared with London. Hussle would wake up early, look out the window and raise his fist into the air.

“He would raise his fist high and say, ‘Respect!’” she said, laughing softly as she remembered her son.

Smith also spoke about the determination that carried Hussle through challenges in both his personal life and career.

“Thank you very much for being inspired by my son, for loving my son,” she told the crowd. “He never gave up his dreams. He had a lot of challenges and a lot of struggles and people tried to interrupt him. He had a lot of burdens on his shoulders.”

She said she sometimes sensed that he carried emotional weight and would ask him about it.

“I tried to ask him, I feel there’s something on your heart and soul,” she said. “And I knew as a mother there was.”

But she said her son often reassured her.

“He would say, ‘No mom, I’m A1. I have a studio again. I’m happy and ready to work.”

Hussle’s brother, Samiel Asghedom, revisited a story he previously shared during Hussle’s funeral — detailing how the family came to acquire the commercial property at Crenshaw and Slauson where Hussle later built businesses and community initiatives. According to Asghedom, the previous property owners had been facing pressure from the city because of gang activity in the area. Officials had labeled the property a public nuisance, which could have led to its closure and forced eviction of businesses operating there.

The owners, he said, did not feel comfortable evicting them as tenants and ultimately decided to sell the property to the Asghedom family instead.

“God works in mysterious ways,” he told the crowd. “We would have never been able to buy the property if this did not happen.”

The acquisition later became the foundation for Hussle’s growing vision of economic empowerment in South Los Angeles.

“Everyone knows Hustle loved the community and Crenshaw and Slauson,” Asghedom said.

Hussle’s father, Dawit Asghedom, closed his remarks by reflecting on the meaning behind the square dedication.

True leadership, he said, means lifting others while rising yourself.

“Nipsey Hussle Square stands as a permanent testimony to his vision,” he said. “A place where heritage, culture and community converge.”

The dedication formally cements the intersection — long associated with Hussle’s entrepreneurial work and community activism — as a lasting symbol of the rapper’s influence in South Los Angeles.