It’s been nearly two years since Nipsey Hussle passed away, but the impact he’s had on the world, especially on his loved ones, is everlasting. The Crenshaw native has been heavy on Roddy Ricch’s mind lately, and after this weekend, he will be carried on his chest as well.
On Sunday (Nov. 1), the 22-year-old rapper took to his Instagram Story to reveal his brand new Elliot Eliantte-designed custom chain of Nip wearing a blue bandana inside an iced-out crown of thorns. “I love you big bro @nipseyhussle,” Ricch captioned the photo.
“The Box” hitmaker met Nipsey as a young child, but fostered a relationship with him as he grew older. He often credits the late rapper for his rap career as he was featured on “Racks in the Middle” — Nipsey’s last single before passing away. Following Nip’s untimely death, Ricch got a face tattoo of the word “prolific” — a word the Victory Lap rapper used to describe himself — and was one of many artists to pay tribute to him on the Grammy Awards where Nip won his first Grammy for Best Rap Performance.
Nipsey was tragically killed in front of his Marathon Clothing store in March 2019, and has since been honored by celebrities and businesses that have praised him for his accomplishments while alive.
In honor of the one-year anniversary of his death, TIDAL ran an 18-hour livestream of Nipsey’s performances and interviews. Snoop Dogg and YG have also expressed their love for the late star via social media posts and music.
During a December interview with Variety, Roddy gave some insight on Nipsey’s generosity and remembered his motivating personality.
“Just in his actions, he really put his people in positions to win,” he said. “Everybody around him felt the sense of needing to hustle and succeed, and that was a great attribute to have as a person. Or you can drive people around you to have added attributes to their personality, that’s a good characteristic. Not a lot of people can do that, when you can make other people shine greater than your light.”
Instagram/Roddy Ricch