The Marathon Don’t Stop: The Life and Times of Nipsey Hussle

Journalist Kenner debuts with an arresting biography of the late hip-hop artist and activist Nipsey Hussle. Tracking down Hussle’s family members and friends, Kenner chronicles his subject’s life, from his childhood in Los Angeles’s Crenshaw neighborhood to his murder there at age 33. Hussle grew up reading computer magazines and built a computer from a pile of discarded parts, and as a teenager was a member of the Crips. To support himself, Hussle started going on “get-money missions,” selling everything from weed to DVDs. From there, he turned his love of rap into a hustle, burning mix CDs, which he sold for $5. He soon began rapping on his own mixes, and his popularity—charted by Kenner with a contagious reverence—soared after Jay-Z purchased 100 copies of his mixtape Crenshaw in 2013. Nearly a decade later, his official debut album, Victory Lap, was nominated for a Grammy. Hussle returned his success to his neighborhood, starting businesses that employed felons, and a STEM program to “bridge the gap between South Central and Silicon Valley.” Only a year after his album’s release, Hussle was shot and killed outside of a store he’d just opened, prompting widespread grief in the music industry. This is a story of determination and heart that no music fan will want to miss. Agent: Robert Guinsler, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Mar.)