Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Ermias A. . . . Who Was He ?

This past weekend I noticed an obit in the Wall Street Journal. This was unusual for me as I never read obits in the WSJ. However, this one attracted my attention as the name on the obit was very unusual, and there was a sketch of the deceased, a dapper-looking young black gentleman with a stylish long beard and a collared shirt buttoned all the way to the top. His name was Ermias Joseph Asghedom. His father was an immigrant from Eritrea, and his mother was black American. He was born in L.A. and was raised in the Crenshaw neighborhood in South Los Angeles. As a teenager he joined the local Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips gang, and for the most part he stayed in his “scruffy Hyde Park neighborhood” in South Los Angeles. On 3/31/19, he was fatally shot outside a clothing store in South Los Angeles. He was 33 years old. 

At this point he sounds like just one of the many unfortunates who never escaped the ghetto, and really never had much of a chance. But why was his obit in the Wall Street Journal when on most days an obit like this would not even have made the L.A. Times? 
Would it help if I told you that his other name was Nipsey Hussle? If this helps you, then you are much more into rap music than I ! At this point I was still NAC (not a clue!), but then I read his complete obit.

According to the obit, he was a very successful Grammy-nominated rapper who supplemented his music career by trying to revitalize his neighborhood. Instead of leaving South L.A., he bought real estate and opened up stores and created jobs. He said that his music was partly about how to succeed as a young black entrepreneur. He had invested in an organization, Vector90, which provided workspaces and training in science and technology. He had hoped to provide a bridge between Silicon Valley and the inner city.
His death at an early age is full of ironies: His life was ended outside his Marathon Clothing store in Hyde Park . . . a store that he opened in an attempt to revitalize that neighborhood. In one of his songs, he said, “I’m from where homicide boosts the economy.” A trilogy of his recordings was titled “Bullets Ain’t Got No Name.” On April 1, the day after he was shot, he was scheduled to meet with the L.A. Police Commissioner to talk about ways he could help stop gang violence and help kids. And finally, he recently tweeted, ”Having strong enemies is a blessing.”

Wow, what a guy! His death is a big loss to the Hyde Park area and to the multiple inner city kids that live there. It would be a fitting tribute to Ermias Joseph Asghedom, if other black rappers would follow his example. Will any of them step-up ?

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