Nipsey Hussle's final music video 'Higher' with DJ Khaled, John Legend 'captures the essence' of slain rapper
DJ Khaled and John Legend teamed up for a joint track with the late rapper Nipsey Hussle in the song 'Higher' which features on Khaled's 'Father of Asahd'. The visual for the song was partially filmed on top of a parking structure in Inglewood, California, a few days before Hussle was fatally shot outside his Los Angeles clothing store in March.
The video shows John Legend playing the grand piano and singing the gospel-themed hook " You keep taking me higher and higher/But don’t you know that the devil’s a liar/I know they’d rather see me down, put my soul in the fire.” Hussle follows up with his rhymes and so does Khaled.
Nipsey's rhymes speak about his family’s struggles, temptations from the streets and ultimately inspirational growth. “Looking back at my life make my heart race/Dance with the devil and test our faith,” he raps. “I was thinking chess moves/But it was God’s grace.” The video ends with three of the musicians raising their hands to the sky.
The video dropped on Thursday night. Directed by Eif Rivera, the video begins with the words "In Loving Memory of Nipsey Hussle" and ends with "Rest In Paradise Ermias 'Nipsey Hussle' Asghedom'. The video was released a day after DJ Khaled shared a tweet about it that said, "A gift from my brother Nipsey that we want to share with the world. We miss you and we will forever keep your legacy going. The Marathon Continues. God Bless You. "
The rapper shared a picture along with the tweet, which spoke of his journey. Khaled said he has been on a “soul-searching journey” since Hussle was murdered and with “the full blessing of the Asghedom family” he decided to share the track. “The very title of the song reminds us that vibrating on a ‘Higher’ level was the essence of Nipsey’s soul,” DJ Khaled wrote on Twitter prior to the video’s unveiling. “It is in this spirit, of moving forward, of preserving his mission that I, my co-writers, producers and label partners are donating 100% of all our proceeds from ‘Higher’ to Nipsey’s children, Emani and Kross.”
"It began when a tragedy robbed the world of an enlightened soul, a brother, a father, a partner and my friend, Nipsey Hussle," Khaled explained according to ETonline. "Just days prior, he shared his energy and positivity with me on a video set for a song called, 'Higher.'"
Legend, who also collaborated in the video tweeted shortly after Hussle's shooting saying," RIP Nipsey. I just spent Thursday with him filming a video for a beautiful new song we created with Khaled. We filmed in Inglewood, close to where he grew up. He was so gifted, so proud of his home, so invested in his community. Utterly stunned that he's gone so soon."
Khaled’s 11th studio album, 'Father of Asahd', dropped at midnight on Thursday and features an all-star cast of guests, including Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Cardi B, Nas, Travis Scott, Lil Wayne, SZA, Future, 21 Savage, Chance the Rapper, J Balvin, Post Malone and many others.
Hussle was murdered by a former acquaintance of his, called Eric Holder. The 29-year-old had fled from the scene in a waiting car after shooting the rapper. Holder has been charged with Hussle's murder, to which he has pleaded not guilty. His memorial was attended by 21,000 fans, friends and family members as the three-hour-long celebration of his life took place at the Los Angeles Staples Center on Thursday, April 11.
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