Lauren London is about that life. The 34-year-old actress dressed her children in blue, the color associated with fiancé Nipsey Hussle’s gang, the Rolling 60s Crips. Thousands attended Nipsey’s memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Thursday.
The service was live-streamed by multiple news and entertainment outlets. At one point during the service, London, who wore white, shared the stage with her children, sons Cameron Carter, 10, 2-year-old Kross Asghedom; Nipsey’s daughter, Emani Asghedom, and Nipsey’s sister, Samantha Smith.
A murmur went through the crowd when the children appeared onstage wearing gang-affiliated colors.
The funeral service kicked off with song selections from the rapper’s Grammy-nominated album Victory Lap. Then Martha Ambrosius performed Mariah Carey’s hit “Fly Like a Bird” while fighting back tears.
Fans who were lucky enough to score tickets to the memorial service were given glossy books containing 100 pages of photos documenting Nipsey’s life. The book also contained messages from Snoop Dogg, LeBron James, The Game and Russell Westbrook.
Stevie Wonder and Anthony Hamilton were scheduled to perform.
Nipsey’s friend and business partner Karen Civil read a touching letter from former President Barack Obama.
“I’ve never met Nipsey, but I’ve heard his music through my daughters, and after his passing, I had the chance to learn more about his transformation and his community work,” the letter read.
“While most folks look at the Crenshaw neighborhood, where he grew up, and only see gangs, bullets and despair, he saw potential. He saw home. He saw a community that, even through its flaws, taught him to always keep going. His choice to invest in that community – rather than to ignore it – to build a skilled training center, a co-working space in Crenshaw, to lift up the Eritrean-African community. He set an example for young people to follow and is a legacy worth celebrating. I hope his memory inspires more good work in Crenshaw and communities like it. Michelle and I send our sympathies to Lauren, Emani, Kross, and his whole family and to all of those who love Nipsey.”
Nipsey, 33, and two others were gunned down outside his Marathon Clothing store in L.A. on Sunday, March 31. Nipsey died at the scene. A former Crips gang banger, Eric Holder Jr., 29, is in custody awaiting trial.
