Nipsey Hussle's Real Name: Ermias Asghedom

Quick answer: The rapper is known professionally as Nipsey Hussle. The Associated Press and AllMusic independently give the name Ermias Asghedom. Both date his birth to August 15, 1985, and his death to March 31, 2019, in Los Angeles.

Real name and early life

Independent publishers identify him under the professional name Nipsey Hussle and give the name Ermias Asghedom. The Associated Press dates the birth to Aug. 15, 1985, in the Crenshaw neighborhood of Los Angeles, describes him as Eritrean-American, and says his stage name was a play on the standup comic Nipsey Russell. AllMusic independently dates the birth to August 15, 1985, in Los Angeles, lists the form Ermias Ashgedom in a name line and Ermias Asghedom in the biography text, and says he adapted the stage name from Nipsey Russell.

Career highlights

The Associated Press says he released successful mixtapes, placed on XXL's Freshman Class of 2010, that Jay-Z bought 100 copies of the 2013 mixtape Crenshaw, and that his major-label debut album Victory Lap debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and was nominated for best rap album at the 2019 Grammy Awards. AllMusic independently records early mixtapes including Slauson Boy and Crenshaw, the 2018 album Victory Lap, which it says debuted in the Top Five of the Billboard 200 and was nominated for Best Rap Album, and later posthumous Grammy Awards in 2020 for Best Rap Performance, for "Racks in the Middle," and Best Rap/Sung Performance, for his part on DJ Khaled's "Higher." AllMusic also records later mixtapes including Mailbox Money and the 2016 collaboration with YG, "FDT (Fuck Donald Trump)," and says the city later announced that the intersection of Slauson Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard would be named Ermias "Nipsey Hussle" Asghedom Square. The Associated Press independently records the YG collaboration and says Hussle, with business partner Dave Gross, had purchased the Crenshaw plaza where his store was located.

Death

The Associated Press reported that Hussle was fatally shot on March 31, 2019, outside Marathon Clothing, the store he founded in South Los Angeles, and that he was 33. Police said two other men were also shot and were in stable condition. A Los Angeles jury later found Eric R. Holder Jr. guilty of first-degree murder in Hussle's death on July 6, 2022, and also convicted him of two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter for the two other men who were shot, the Associated Press reported. On February 22, 2023, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke II sentenced Holder to 60 years to life in prison, according to the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times. AllMusic independently dates the death to March 31, 2019, in Los Angeles, and says he was killed outside his Marathon Clothing store at age 33.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Nipsey Hussle or Ermias Asghedom are looking for the same rapper, including the mixtapes and later album most often associated with his name. Search traffic often uses the professional name Nipsey Hussle.