Los Angeles, CA–March 31st will mark seven years and it’s still hard to believe that Nipsey Hussle was tragically murdered at his place of business and in the same area he dedicated his life to. It was good to see the city of Los Angeles host an official ceremony February 28th, unveiling signs posted on all four corners of Slauson and Crenshaw as Nipsey Hussle square. Especially, considering the City Attorney and Los Angeles Police Department tried to force the previous owners to evict Nipsey from the Marathon lot due to gang activity.
I arrived at Crenshaw and Slauson that morning expecting to witness a historic moment for the community. Family members, artists, elected officials and longtime supporters had gathered to honor the legacy of Nipsey Hussle at the intersection that defined so much of his life’s work.
Eritrean flags moved through the crowd as his family arrived with an entourage of friends and security including the Nation of Islam’s Tony Muhammad. It was a powerful reminder of the heritage of Nipsey Hussle, born Ermias Asghedom.
We had been standing in the middle of Slauson near Crenshaw for about 30 minutes as the family arrived, when something unexpected happened. A swarm of bees appeared and began flying above the crowd. People started looking up, moving around, wondering where the bees had come from. Some people ducked out of the way while others tried to make sense of it.
For a moment, it felt chaotic like someone had released the bees to sabotage the space. Then I overheard something that shifted how I understood the moment. A young Eritrean woman standing near the family said that Nipsey had appeared to her in a dream the night before — as a bee.
I remember pausing when I heard that. Suddenly, the presence of the bees didn’t feel random anymore.
In many cultures and spiritual traditions, bees carry deep symbolic meaning. They represent community, perseverance and collective work. Bees move as a unit. They protect their hive. They build something larger than themselves through discipline and cooperation. Bees don’t operate through chaos or individual ego. They function through cooperation and purpose. They build something together that protects and sustains the whole.
Standing there at Crenshaw and Slauson, it was hard not to think about how closely that symbolism mirrored Nipsey Hussle’s life. His legacy was never just about music. It was about building something that would outlive him — investing in property in his own neighborhood, creating opportunities for others and constantly pushing the idea that ownership and community empowerment were the real victories.
As the ceremony began and the crowd settled, my attention kept returning to the bees circling above us. But the moment that grounded everything for me came when his mother, Angelique Smith, stepped to the microphone.
I’ve covered a lot of public speeches before, but the way she spoke didn’t feel like a speech. It felt like a conversation — the kind that comes from someone who has experienced both deep love and deep loss. His mother began by thanking the community.
“Thank you very much for being inspired by my son, for loving my son,” she said.
Smith spoke about the determination that carried Hussle through challenges in both his personal life and career. She said he never gave up his dreams but he had people that tried to interrupt him. He also had a lot of burdens on his shoulders. She said she sometimes sensed that he carried emotional weight and would ask him about it, but he always told her that he was A1.
“Through all your challenges, she said. Through all your setbacks. Through your haters, respond in love.”
Standing there in the crowd, hearing those words from the woman who raised the man everyone came to honor, it felt like she was speaking directly to each of us. There was no bitterness or anger in her tone, just grace.
Actress Lauren London shared a memory during the ceremony about how Nipsey used to tell her that one day the intersection of Crenshaw and Slauson would carry his name. Her son, Kameron Carter, spoke about how difficult it had been to even pass by the area after Nipsey’s death, and how seeing the community gathered there now brought him comfort.
His sister, Samantha Smith, reminded everyone that Nipsey was someone who always showed up — for his family, for his children and for the community. But the moment that stayed with me most was still his mother’s words.
Respond in love.
Looking back on that morning, it’s hard not to think about the symbolism of everything that happened. The bees appearing just before the ceremony began. The community gathering in unity. A mother standing before thousands of people and choosing gratitude and compassion instead of grief.
The whole ceremony was a reminder of something Nipsey believed deeply — that when people come together with purpose, they create something powerful. 🐝
Photos: Qia Lanique
