We are not a monolith. Our community is made up of beautiful nuances, woven webs of intricacies and intersectionality that demands attention at every interlock. For our community, Nipsey Hussle is the personification of the intricately nuanced intersections that we must continue to celebrate.

Admittedly, I am not a day one fan of Nipsey Hussle. Although I knew of him because a video that circulated some years ago of him explaining his desire to invest in real estate instead of spending money on depreciating material things — assets vs. liabilities — I didn’t start listening to his music until he dropped Victory Lap, a Grammy nominated album. However, it didn’t take long to realize that this man was a real one. And, he was so much to so many.

Blavitize your inbox! Join our daily newsletter for fresh stories and breaking news.

We all saw him as the:

Father

Soulmate

Friend

Uniquely gifted rapper

Community leader

STEM advocate

Buy Back the Block champion

Speaker and seeker of truth

Entrepreneur

Renaissance man.

What speaks volumes is the way that those who do not know him personally have been affected by his passing. It is a true testament to the way he lived his life and the changes that he made in his life, for the better, to further his legacy. His impact will live on. We, as a community, have to make sure that his impact resonates through time.

Here, the call to action is simple because he made it easy for us by ensuring that he owned his own master recording rights to Victory Lap. We, as a community, need to stream his music. All of the revenue from streaming will go to his family.

We also need to make sure that Nipsey's work documenting a holistic doctor (known as Dr. Sebi) and his victory in a mid-1980s court case against the Attorney General of New York was not in vain. These truths must be told and the documentary must happen. The information is vital to our community.

In the end, Nipsey Hussle really did come full circle. He took his victory lap and used it to impart knowledge and inspire our community.

Rest in power, Nipsey.