ONLY a few weeks after his only studio album, “Victory Lap,” was up for Best Rap Album at the 61st Grammy Awards, West Coast rapper Nipsey Hussle (real name: Ermias Ashgedom) has died at age 33, after being shot outside his South Los Angeles clothing store, Marathon Clothing, on Sunday afternoon.

Although “Victory Lap,” which debuted at No. 4 last year on the Billboard 200, was Hussle’s only official studio album, he was already a hip-hop legend, having released 12 hugely popular mixtapes over the past 13 years, including the “Bullets Ain’t Got No Name” series, “The Marathon,” “The Marathon Continues,” and “Crenshaw.” In 2010, he was one of the XXL Magazine’s “Annual Freshman Top 10,” and the L.A. Weekly declared him the “next big L.A. MC.” Over the course of his career, Hussle collaborated with Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Tyga, Rick Ross, Lloyd, and Trey Songz, among many others.

Hussle also occasionally took on acting roles, appearing in Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s semi-autobiographical 2007 film “I Tried,” 2010’s “Caged Animal,” and the pilot episode of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” in 2015. Hussle, who was born and raised in the Crenshaw neighborhood of South L.A., also worked as a local community organizer and was involved in the Destination Crenshaw arts project.

Only a couple hours before his death, Hussle tweeted, “Having strong enemies is a blessing.” As of this writing, the shooting suspect, who fled from the scene, remains at large, and the attack is being investigated as a homicide. Two other victims of the shooting are reportedly receiving treatment and are in stable condition.

Upon hearing of Hussle’s shocking passing, many celebrities took to social media to mourn.

(SD-Agencies)