Nipsey Hussle was assassinated not long after announcing a partnership between Puma and his ‘The Marathon Clothes’ business. Despite the Eritrean-American musician is no longer alive, his clothing line and the fashion giant continue to collaborate on items. Lauren London, his ex-girlfriend, is also a brand ambassador for the hugely popular apparel label.
Aside from commerce, the German clothing conglomerate has been unfailingly supportive of the deceased rapper’s two children. Complex stated that Nipsey Hussle’s brother, Blacc Sam, disclosed in an interview with Earn Your Leisure that Puma pays annual installments into the trust fund of the deceased rapper’s two children.
“After everything, they came back to the table and made sure the kids was set up straight,” Sam said. “It had nothing to do with sales of clothes or the success of the capsules, just off the top every year they hit the kids in the trust fund. They did right for Hussle.”
Collections under the Puma and TMC collaboration are released at least once a year. Sam explained how Puma has allowed them to stick to the original contract agreed with Nipsey.
“They allowed us to also do the collabs and do it the way we wanna do it. It’s not about selling a lot of units or printing up a lot of t-shirts and going wild. It’s just let’s do it tasteful, let’s come in with the Hussle way,” he said.
Nipsey, born Ermias Asghedom, was tragically murdered outside his Marathon Clothing store in his South-Central Los Angeles neighborhood in March 2019, as previously reported by How Africa. Eric Holder, the man suspected of killing him, was recently sentenced to 60 years in jail for his murder.
Prosecutors told the court at the outset of Holder’s trial in June that his acts were planned and intentional. Assistant District Attorney John McKinney claimed Holder knew he was going to kill the rapper. “Nipsey was at least ten times struck,” McKinney alleged, adding that Holder also kicked the Victory Lap rapper in the head before fleeing the scene.