During the BET Awards on Sunday night, rapper and activist Nipsey Hussle, who was shot on March 31 outside of his store Marathon Clothing, was honored and received the Humanitarian Award. Hussle’s family and fiancée, Lauren London, accepted the award on his behalf.

Hussle was known as a major community activist, especially through his music and spoke often about his experiences in the gang culture. He created various mixtapes and was nominated for the Best Rap Album Award at the 2019 Grammys.

At the BET Awards, different performers went on stage to dedicate a song to Hussle. The performers included YG, DJ Khaled, Marsha Ambrosius and John Legend. The entire performance was focused upon remembering and celebrating Hussle.

When the Humanitarian Award was given to Hussle, London, Angelique Smith, Margaret Boutte, and more of Hussle’s family came on stage. Boutte, Hussle’s grandmother, commemorated the impact Hussle made on the world. “As God said to me, Nipsey, you’ve done your job,” Boutte said. “You’ve left your mark. I’m welcoming you to heaven so you can rest.”

“I just want to thank you guys for all the love and support, and the marathon continues, again,” London said while holding the Humanitarian award.

When introducing herself, Smith, Hussel’s mother, identified herself as a “queen mother.” “So even though our bodies die, as they call it, on this side of eternity, our spirits live,” Smith said. “We lift out of this vessel and we continue on.”

To close the acceptance speeches was Nipsey Hussle’s father, Dawit Asghedom. “He would want to be here so badly,” Asghedom said. “And last year, he made it to perform here, we were so happy for him. And now we recognize him.”

The BET’s Twitter account shared this acceptance speech.

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Amber Raiken

Article by Amber Raiken

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