Victory Lap. 🏁

to all the freedom fighters and all the activists and all the lovers of culture, keep fighting. keep loving. keep actively working.

this is hard. but you still have a job to do. we still have a job. there are going to be times that we are deflated. events and situations are going to occur that discourages us.

have emotions brotha. that is fine. stop trying to be subhuman. it is fine. control your emotions tho. we cannot do things in 15 seconds that can never be changed but can change the next 15 years of our lives. we must be smart.

that’s why we were chosen. we are strong. we are fighters.

there is a war on hope. we must win. we cannot afford to throw in the towel.

i’m telling you, this is hard. Nipsey Hussle dying one day was inevitable. people die. the only thing that is promised. but Nipsey Hussle being murdered in front of his store on his street in his hood is what i’m having a hard time dealing with. this is our time. this is the time to go THAT much harder. believe in yourself THAT much more. invest in yourself THAT much longer. hustle THAT much bigger.

i AM discouraged. i’m being 100. but i can’t stop. so Britt, keep creating. L, keep producing. Vandi, keep fighting. Henok, keep hustlin. Nate, keep providing. Sammy, keep spittin. Tasha, keep working. Momma, keep prayin.

i was put on Nip by one of the homies. to me, his music was okay. sonically, didn’t feel it. loved his lyrics tho so what he was saying on the tracks took me over. what he was saying off tracks took me over. in interviews and tweets and how others respected his vision is how i gravitated towards him. this man is a winner. Victory Lap. he already won, he’s just waiting on everyone else to catch up. i didn’t know how influential he was to me. when i talk to my boys and offer ideas and reach out to people on social media, i wish to unite and build. Nipsey Hussle is what i aspire to be in many ways. he was an independent artist. he owned his own masters. a father. a provider. he hustled then bought blocks and set up shop where he grew up. he promoted health and unity amongst Black and Brown people. he was about working. he was affiliated with the Crips. he was revered by Bloods, direct rival gang from the same city. artists such as YG and The Game, who both have songs named after the Blood call SuuWhoop and Su Woo, respectively, have respect and honor for Nipsey. Nipsey was respected. ScHoolboy Q is from Hoover and his set ain’t rocking with the 60s. However, he and Nip had respect for each other.

this man was trying to cease fire. 24 hours after he was killed, he had a meeting with a the president of the LA Board of Police Commissioner and the city’s chief of police to discuss ending gang violence and ways to prevent kids from going down that path. this was scheduled. he was trying to bring peace. Crips and Bloods have been around for decades going at it. and this man, with the help of Kendrick Lamar, Snoop, Top, and others, were planning on a producing a truce. that is bad for business. someone or thing killed this man.

in his new song, he has a lyric that reads:

“Closin escrow twice this month, both commercial units.
damn, i wish my nigga Fatts was here.
How you die thirty somethin’ after banging all them years?
grammy nominated, in the sauna sheddin tears,
all this money, power, fame and i can’t make you reappear.”

how you die 30 something, after bangin all them years. Nipsey was 33 years old.

2014, Nipsey also had this lyric “Gang related homicide is what the news will say.” Nip was no fool.

this is the wrong generation for people with good hearts.

so cry. mourn. that’s natural. when you were a kid and got spanked, you cried. why? because you were hurt. you were emotionally and physically hurt. you felt betrayed like “why would someone i love do this to me?” i have the same hurt now. the people who you’re fighting for will hurt you. we take less money for years of our lives in order to try to fight for the people. we go to college and get in debt in stay up long nights and eat little food trying to come up with solutions and blueprints to help people. those people will disappoint us. we’re humans at the end of the day. don’t let that disappointment deter you from your job. your purpose. i am hurt. i cried. in front of 2 women. last time was when Alton Sterling was killed July 5th 2016 and Philando Castile the very next day. i just wished it would rain. there is nothing much more that can provide that much disappointment and broken heartedness than having brothas and sistas get killed. people be like “you never met them.” No. these are my family members. just like the many conversations i had with Malcolm and Assata, i am close to the slain soldiers. so be sad. be angry. be disappointed. mourn. there’s a time for that. but there’s a time for everything. so after that, be grateful. fight back. be proactive. be prepared. stay dangerous. be armed. be working. be responsible. be resilient. resistant. be ready. figure out where you can be most useful. be succa proof.

i stayed at my moms house last night just so i can feel some type of solace. it felt only right. like a baby running into their parents room in the midst of a thunderstorm. but last i still had a nightmare. i refused to watch any footage of Nip getting shot but my nightmare was ME THERE. in front of his store. it was like my present but i couldn’t do anything to help. *I have to thank every Black woman out there. holding down families. being the shoulder to lean on. the hand wiping tears. the voice of reason. the allowance of emotion. we owe you. the world owes Black women. thank you.

we can do something. we cannot stand idle any longer. we cannot afford to be stagnant. be active.

Black people, i’ve been preaching this undying love for all folks from the diaspora. PLEASE. this is a call of action. this is a PSA. STOP hurting each other. Afrikans born in amerikkka. those born in Jamaica. those who’s folks were born in Eritrea. those who are from England. we often fight ourselves because we can’t fight the machine killing us. we often see ourselves as threats because the bigger threat made us increasingly nervous and full of hate and fearful of people who look like us. we go at ourselves because we can’t go at them. Nipsey Hussle was trying to unite Black people. the system wants Black people dead. please. the irony of this all is how many people are going to be killed directly from this. that is not what Nipsey wanted. that was not his message. in his name, unite. love.

be patient with Black people. if you think you’re at a point of enlightenment and you ain’t got time for people who aren’t there or who practice self hate or who don’t wanna support Black owned companies, be patient. be patient.

Malcolm X said “don’t be in a hurry to condemn because he doesn’t do what you do or think as you think or as fast. There was a time when you didn’t know what you know today.” Don’t condemn. don’t throw away people. don’t turn your back. we all need love. some people know what you know now 5 years ago. and some will figure out what you know now 9 months from now. some, THIS is the awakening they need.

we need each other. we are stronger together.

there is a war on hope. we must win.