Although the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books panel was called Drop the Beat, it started with a moment of silence. Amid the celebration of literature of 1990s-era rap music, former KDAY-Los Angeles radio show host Greg Mack — who was the first DJ to play the genre on air in 1983 — made a point to pay tribute to fallen rapper Nipsey Hussle.
“I thought it important that we mention a friend of all of ours,” Mack said.
“Nipsey was an example of what all people in the entertainment business should be. What I mean is when you reach a certain level in your career, you forget where you came from. And not only did he not forget, but he was a role model in how to give back and he did so much, so much that he gave his life.”
The panel included poet, essayist and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib, who penned “Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest”; Will Ashon, the founder of Big Dada — an imprint of Ninja Tune records — and author of “Chamber Music: Wu-Tang and America (in 36 Pieces)”; and Gerrick D. Kennedy, L.A. Times music writer and author of “Parental Discretion is Advised: The Rise of N.W.A and the Dawn of Gangsta Rap.” As they spoke about their recent works, the question of Hussle’s impact on the hip-hop and Los Angeles community continued to surface during the packed discussion on Saturday in USC’s Hoffman Hall.
“I think the legacy is going to be the work that he did in the community and how he was working to make South L.A. better,” said Kennedy, who was a part of The Times’ extensive coverage of Hussle. “It’s one thing that makes his death particularly cruel just because of how much he was invested in his neighborhood.”
Hussle’s community efforts, such as hiring felons who couldn’t find work, financially supporting struggling black businesses and donating to children in the area, were evident up and down the Crenshaw District in South Los Angeles. However, Abdurraqib said he hopes that the rapper will also be remembered for the vehicle that afforded him the opportunity to make change: music.
“[What’s] detached from [many] of these tributes is the fact that the dude could rap,” he said. “Nipsey Hussle was a very good rapper who honed his craft, and the work shows up in the projects. He’s one of those rappers who very palpably got better with every project.”
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Get Lit — Words Ignite poet Khamal Iwvanyanwu shares his poetry with passersby at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday. The group is based in Koreatown.
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Maria Recarte, of South Los Angeles, enjoys a Sunday afternoon with family and a book at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC.
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Lincoln Choi, 2, of Los Angeles shows his enthusiasm as members from the Urban Voices Project perform at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday. The project includes current and former residents of skid row.
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Members of the Urban Voices Project, which includes current and former residents of skid row, perform at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
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People walk around the USC campus at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Sunday.
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Markey Torres, 5, and Sophie Torres, 4, both of Los Angeles, make a book purchase at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday. (Ana Venegas / For The Times)
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Get Lit – Words Ignite poets C.E Oldham, from left, Tyris Winter, Khamal Iwvanyanwu and Mila Cudas break into a group poem for passersby at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
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Times critic Mary McNamara, left, interviews former first daughter Chelsea Clinton, author of the children’s environment book “Don’t Let Them Disappear,” at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
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Leo Barba, 4, watches family members try on paper mache heads at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday. (Ana Venegas / For The Times)
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Michelle Mauk, left, reads a pop-up book with her son Milo Armes, 6, during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC.
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Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton, author of the children’s environment book “Don’t Let Them Disappear,” made an appearance at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC.
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UC President and former Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano discusses her book “How Safe Are We: Homeland Security Since 9/11” with L.A. Times Managing Editor Scott Kraft at the Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
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Le Petit Cirque contortionist Lila Woodard, 13, of Santa Barbara folds herself into a clear box at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
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Author and actress Amber Tamblyn, author of “Era of Ignition: Coming of Age in a Time of Rage and Revolution,” speaks during the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books held at USC.
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Hasan Paul, 12, peeks into a book for sale during the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
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People browse books for sale during the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
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Justine Bateman, author of “Fame: The Hijacking of Reality,” is interviewed during the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Shiri Davy, left, with Stefani Bulsara, who wrote “Radio Gaga.” Bulsara wears a CD-covered dress to reflect the book’s musical theme at the independent author pavilion at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC.
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Kevin Tominaga holds his daughters Lana and Kaya Tominaga, left and right, who watch USC’s band perform during the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
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Samantha Ruzon, of USC’s Color Guard, performs during the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
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Fernando Grimaldo and Elaine Karaelias relax with a copy of “Inca Gods and Aliens” by Bruce Noon at the Los Angeles Festival of Books at USC.
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Mexican journalist and author Anabel Hernandez talks about “A Massacre In Mexico: The True Story Behind the Missing Forty-Three Students,” at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC.
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Molly Ash, right, tidies the books at the Book Soup booth at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC.
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Indie musician Maddie Ross performs at the USC stage at the Los Angeles Festival of Books at USC.
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Biani Martinez Romero, 8, of Los Angeles, watches a virtual-reality movie at the Save L.A. Cougars booth at the Festival of Books at USC.
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Times columnists Chris Erskine, from left, Robin Abcarian, Steve Lopez and Frank Shyong speak on a panel during the L.A. Times Festival of Books.
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Valerie Jarrett, former White House senior advisor to President Obama and author of “Finding My Voice,” is interviewed by the Times’ White House editor Jackie Calmes at the L.A. Times Ideas Exchange during the Festival of Books.
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Jostin Soto Garcia reads a wall of comments at the L.A. Times Festival of Books at USC.
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People pack the USC campus at the L.A. Times Festival of Books.
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Erica Reyes, of Silverlake, reads “Death Wins a Goldfish,” at the L.A. Times Festival of Books at USC.
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Hanif Abdurraqib, center, speak during the “Drop the Beat: Writing About Music” panel along with Greg Mack, Times writer Gerrick D. Kennedy and Will Ashton at the annual L.A. Times Festival of Books.
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Valerie Jarrett, former senior White House advisor under President Obama and author of “Finding My Voice,” is interviewed by Times’ White House editor Jackie Calmes at the L.A. Times Ideas Exchange during the Festival of Books at USC.
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Attendees laugh with Sandra Cisneros during her appearance at the Festival of Books on Saturday at USC.
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Author Sandra Cisneros drew a crowd during her appearance at the Festival of Books on Saturday at USC.
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Noah McCown, 3, of Glendale, gets a kiss from a marionette during the Festival of Books on Saturday at USC.
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Sophia Tesfalem, 12, gets her face painted by USC Public Safety Cadet Amy Ramirez, 14, during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Saturday at USC.
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Sisters Mia and Diana Palma peruse books for sale during the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Saturday at USC.
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Lili Anolik, author of “Hollywood’s Eve,” takes part in a panel discussion titled “Los Angeles: The People and Places” during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Saturday at USC.
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Jonah Legere, and Shannon Legere of Long Beach read “Pete the Cat and the Missing Cupcakes,” together during the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at University of Southern California on Saturday, April 13, 2019 in Los Angeles, Calif. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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People pack the USC campus for the L.A. Times Festival of Books on Saturday.
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Author Andrea Beaty takes questions from children in the audience at the L.A. Times Festival of Books at USC on Saturday.
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Judi Rivera of Whittier operates a printing press making a copy of the first issue of the Los Angeles Daily Times at the L.A. Times Festival of Books at USC on Saturday.
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USC student Caroline Sharp, 19, opens a book she just purchased at the L.A. Times Festival of Books on the USC campus Saturday.
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Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, owner of the Los Angeles Times, speaks at the L.A. Times Festival of Books at USC on Saturday.
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Actor Joshua Molina and Alana Newhouse, author of the cookbook “The 100 Most Jewish Foods: A Highly Debatable List,” at the L.A. Times Festival of Books at USC on Saturday.
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Children are mesmerized as a figure from the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre performs at the L.A. Times Festival of Books at USC on Saturday.
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People pack the L.A. Times Festival of Books at USC on Saturday.
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Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, right, and executive editor Norm Pearlstine on the main stage at the L.A. Times Festival of Books at USC on Saturday.
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William Deverell leads a panel discussion titled “Los Angeles: The People and Places That Shaped a City” at the L.A. Times Festival of Books at USC on Saturday.
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Times columnist Robin Abcarian, left, speaks with authors Roxane Gay and Laurie Halse Anderson at the Bovard Auditorium during the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC.
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Japanese author and illustrator Sunny Seki talks with Jade Monge, 10, at the L.A. Times Festival of Books at USC on Saturday.
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Andrew Sanchez of Los Angeles and Misha Ponnuraju of San Bernadino browse the shelvesat the L.A. Times Festival of Books at USC on Saturday.
(Ana Venegas / For The Times) Abdurraqib also spoke of how negative views of certain areas or cities, such as Los Angeles or Chicago, often “live in the imagination of a country before they even reach the people who live there.”
“It was wonderful to see how Hussle rebuilt a new imagination for the place that he loved and lived,” Abdurraqib added. “So I will miss that, but I hope that this carries on for people so that their geography doesn’t become weaponized by people who don’t have the best interest for that geography in mind.”
