Nipsey Hussle is reportedly the subject of a posthumous investigation as police officials seek to find out whether the strip mall that housed his clothing store was a hotspot for gang activity.
The late rapper, who was a member of the Rollin 60s Neighbourhood Crips, was shot and killed outside his Marathon Clothing store in LA on March 31.
According to the New York Times, the investigation began before Nipsey’s death, but the shooting has heightened the concerns of LAPD investigators who believed that the strip mall was at the centre of gang violence.
The report also states that city officials urged the former owners of the strip mall to evict the rapper and his close associates, but they instead opted to sell the property to him and a group of investors.
While an LAPD spokesman failed to discuss specific details of the investigation, they confirmed that the force had been negotiating directly with Hussle’s remaining business “to mitigate some of those crime issues.”
Marqueece Harris-Dawson, a City Council member, told the publication that he had been constantly striving to find out more about the investigation on the rapper’s behalf.
In April, Eric Holder was charged over Hussle’s killing. Holder, 29, is facing life in prison after prosecutors charged him with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder. The new report says Holder had a “personal dispute with Hussle”, with witnesses claiming that Hussle had told Holder that he was believed to be a snitch.
“Gentrify your own hood before these people do it,” he rapped in a freestyle at one point. “Claim eminent domain and have your people move in/That’s a small glimpse into what Nipsey was doing/For anybody still confused as to what he was doing.”