Nipsey Hussle was tragically killed outside of the Marathon Clothing store in March 2019, bringing his brief 33 years on earth to a cruel end. The murder took place at the intersection of Slauson and Crenshaw in South Central Los Angeles, the same neighborhood he called home. The defunct Marathon Clothing location now stands as a makeshift memorial for the slain rapper/community activist, with a giant mural of Neighborhood Nip’s face watching over the area.
But according to The Guardian,a second location will be opening soon. Samiel Asghedom, Nip’s older brother, announced his family has purchased commercial property in the Melrose arts district of Los Angeles where they plan to open store No. 2.
“This second location is a dream that Nipsey always had,” Asghedom said. “And it’s important that his kids are able to see his plans fulfilled.”
Although the original location remains closed, the surrounding commercial lot the family owns will eventually be transformed into a community space offering free music lessons for youth, one modeled after a program Nipsey Hussle attended as a kid.
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“Everybody out of that program, including my brother, ended up pursuing a successful music career,” he said. “Just a little effort and a little resources directed toward the youth can really make a big impact … So a youth center would be the best thing we could put there, in the vein of what Hussle stood for: something to inspire the youth and teach them skills that they can use to be productive and legitimate when they become adults.”
Nipsey and his brother had always been ambitious. In 2006, they opened the Slauson Tees store on the corner where Nip had first sold CDs out of his car. The brothers’ businesses went through multiple iterations, until they launched The Marathon Clothing in 2017. Before its grand opening, Nip had considered moving the store to Melrose, where he thought they might have “fewer conflicts with police.”
“We were almost swayed to just abandon it and open somewhere else – we knew it would work,” Asghedom said. “But Nipsey was like, ‘Let’s just go ahead and bite the bullet and take whatever comes with it. The first Marathon clothing store has to be open on Crenshaw and Slauson.’”
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Los Angeles Police Department officers frequented the area more often once the store opened and L.A. officials attempted to have Nipsey evicted from the space, claiming it was a “nuisance” and site of gang activity. But instead of being pushed out, Nipsey and his business partners bought the property. Sadly, it wasn’t long before Nipsey was killed outside the store by alleged gang member/shooter Eric Holder.
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Holder, who was arrested for the murder three days later, has since pleaded not guilty but remains behind bars as he awaits trial. Holder was originally scheduled to stand trial in May 2021, but he refused to come out of his cell. Prosecutors then predicted he’d be in be in court by last December, but that didn’t happen either. The 31-year-old is facing one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder for bullets that hit two bystanders.
