Stevie Wonderhonored Nipsey Hussle’s life and fulfilled the late rapper’s wish.
After Hussle’s family and girlfriend Lauren Londonpaid tribute to the slain rapperat the Staples Center, Wonder, 68, took the stage.
“I had the pleasure through someone I was very close to … who arranged a meeting for myself to have a meeting with him for us to talk,” the singer said of meeting the rapper. “It is a heartbreak to again lose a member of our family. It is a heartbreak because it’s so unnecessary.”
Wonder went on to call for gun control. “We, to be a civilized nation, civilized world, we still are living in a time where ego, anger, jealousy is controlling our lives. It is so painful to know that we don’t have enough people taking a position that says: ‘Listen, we must have stronger gun laws. It’s unacceptable.'”
Stevie Wonder. .Tidal
Just before the ceremony began,The Blastbroke the news that Wonder would be singing “Rocket Love,” a track from his 1980 albumHotter Than July. The performance fulfilled Hussle’s longtime wish, which he outlined in his 2016 track “Ocean Views.”
“Then when I die, blue rag around my rifle/ Hunnid thousand in my coffin, that’s just light dough,” he rapped on the song. “Play a Stevie Wonder song, smoke some flight bro/ Crack a pint of Act then pour in some Sprite bro.”
Wonder also performed atAretha Franklin’s funeralin August 2018.
RELATED VIDEO:Lauren London Tearfully Remembers Nipsey Hussle at His Memorial: ‘I Feel You Everywhere’
London spoke at the memorial, saying in part: “To Ermias, the love of my life. You know what it is. Grief is the final act of love. My heart hears you, I feel you everywhere. I’m so grateful that I had you. I love you beyond this Earth. Until we meet again, the Marathon continues.”
She previously paid tribute to her boyfriend of five years on Instagram, sharing a slideshow of photos of them together with their family. “I am completely lost,” London wrote. “I’ve lost my best friend, my sanctuary, my protector, my soul. We are lost without you babe — I have no words.”
Nipsey Hussle.David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
On April 4, he entered a plea of not guilty in court. Holder could face a maximum sentence of life in state prison if convicted.
Holder has hired attorney Chris Darden, who famously was part of the prosecution team in O.J. Simpson’s murder trial,according toCBSLA.
source: people.com
