The old adage "the good die young" proved true once again. Yesterday, Nipsey Hussle was shot dead while outside of his Marathon Clothing store in the Crenshaw area of Los Angeles. He was 33 years old.

Nipsey was not only a trendsetting, Grammy-nominated rapper but also a model citizen and cherished community member. He provided a blueprint for his peers and younger rappers on how to operate independently. While many other rappers of his stature have blown up and moved on from their humble beginnings, Nipsey invested in the community where he grew up.

All of these elements that made Nipsey Hussle special found their way into his music. The former XXL Freshman was a masterful reporter of the happenings in his hood. Through his music, he spoke on the joys and perils of the streets. He shed light on gang life. Yet there was an uplifting aspect, too, whether Neighborhood Nip was urging Black entrepreneurship, denouncing Donald Trump or pushing for gang unity. When Nipsey put something in a verse, he meant it wholeheartedly and proceeded to show it through his actions.

As the world mourns the death of Nipsey Hussle, his classic mixtapes (The MarathonCrenshaw) and album (Victory Lap), as well as his other music are surely being streamed heavily. XXL takes a look back at the marathon of a career and life that was cut short. Read below for 20 of the most unforgettable lyrics from Nipsey Hussle's scripture-worthy verses. Rest in paradise, Nip.

  • "Blue Laces 2"

    Nipsey Hussle

    "Ones that hate us, handcuff us and mace us/Call us dumb niggas 'cause our culture is contagious/Third generation, South Central gang bangers/That lived long enough to see it changing/Think it's time we make arrangements/Finally wiggle out they mazes, find me out in different places/'I’m the spook by the door,' this the infiltration, double back, dressed in blue laces" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "Dedication"

    Nipsey Hussle Featuring Kendrick Lamar

    "This the remedy, the separation/Tupac of my generation, blue pill in the fuckin' Matrix/Red rose in the gray pavement/Young Black nigga trapped and he can't change it/Know he a genius, he just can't claim it/'Cause they left him no platforms to explain it" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "Rap Music"

    Nipsey Hussle Featuring June Summers

    "On the west side of the city/15 years old and I ain't never left the 60s/Pearl-handle .38, I always kept it with me/Blue '85 Cutlass, everybody knows Nipsey/Hanging out the window, swanging, rolling up endo/Streets detrimental, we ain't know what we was in for/Shootouts in broad day, it was crazy" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "Keys 2 the City"

    Nipsey Hussle

    "Got to keep her close to me/Put that on the man that’s on the cross on my rosary/Wasn’t always banging but I speak about it openly/No shame in my game/I did my thing, on the coldest streets/Who’s the hottest on the West/All you niggas know it’s me/So tell whoever got it locked that Nipsey Hussle stole the key" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "Love?"

    Nipsey Hussle

    "Built my own lane, ain't no nigga ever hand me shit/Slauson Ave., do you understand the averages?/The fact I'm still standing speaks volumes to my savages/We lust lavishness and aim for extravagance/Even if it's only temporary/Least we had the shit" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "I Don't Give a Fucc"

    Nipsey Hussle

    "I gotta hustle, momma I'ma move the white/If I died came back I'd do it twice/Brain washed by the block it consumed my life/Cool nigga but a killa when the mood is right/Bullets have the dogs howling at the moon at night/Momma it's cold outside/Ain't no hope outside" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "None of This"

    Nipsey Hussle Featuring Bino Rideaux

    "We never gone lose if we handle this business/Took a turn on the road to the riches/Left my heart in the curb in the trenches/Everything that I want is expensive/And it came with a lot of conditions/My boys in the guide of your systems/Boy hit a shot through the ceiling/At first it's the awkwardest feeling/But fuck it my nigga let's get it" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "Ocean Views"

    Nipsey Hussle

    "Look, from fucking hood rats to fucking stars/Spending all cash, to sliding cards/It's the definition of living large/Smoking top flight in the biggest cars/Told you '08 this shit was ours/Getting this cake, yeah nigga then getting more/Look at this world young nigga, this really yours/Nigga this really mine, my niggas is really for it, them buildings is really high" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "Young Niggas"

    Nipsey Hussle Featuring Diddy

    "Staring in the space that you fishing for a phrase/Uninspired and your mind, still it's all a paper chase/First you over dedicate, then you notice that you great/And you been the whole time then it slap you in yo face/Then you stack it in your safe, got it crackin', it was fate/You the definition, nigga, laughin' to the bank" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "Crenshaw and Slauson (True Story)"

    Nipsey Hussle

    "Labels used to treatin' rappers like a slave, nigga/Starvin artist, 'Just be happy with your fame, nigga'/Shit changed, now it's such a different game/All the niggas like myself is controlling everything/If you, pay attention see exactly what I mean/Fuck the middleman, I said that in 2003" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "Face the World"

    Nipsey Hussle

    "I prayed for blessings as a young nigga/Not to learn the hard lessons of a drug dealer/Triple life with a gang enhancement/The judge triple white and he hate your Blackness/Slam the gavel with a racist passion/Got you waitin' on appeals but your patience passin'/All you've got to offer is a fight/It's too late to run to Christ once you caught up in this life" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "Status Symbol"

    Nipsey Hussle Featuring LilCadiPGE and Buddy

    "Negotiating equity positions you'll never be/Rap sheet full of felonies/Status symbol on my set of keys/They say I was selling dreams/Back to the brick wall I'm inhaling trees/Visualizing hella cheese, you can smell the weed/Niggas doubt pessimism ain't affecting me/Fuel to the fire took it higher than they ever see" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "FDT"

    YG Featuring Nipsey Hussle

    "I thought all that Donald Trump bullshit was a joke/Know what they say, when rich niggas go broke/Look, Reagan sold coke, Obama sold hope/Donald Trump spent his trust fund money on the vote/I'm from a place where you prolly can't go/Speakin' for some people that you prolly ain't know/It's pressure built up and it's prolly gon' blow/And if we say go then they're prolly gon' go" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "Hussle & Motivate"

    "Think if I call it the great, the people gon' call it the truth/Ain't really trip on the credit, I just payed all of my dues/I just respected the game, now my name all in the news/Trippin' on all of my moves, quote me on this, got a lot more to prove/'Member I came in this bitch, fresh out the county with nothin' to lose" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "The Rap Monument"

    Nipsey Hussle

    "Fresh like my nephew Khalil in this bitch/40 cal, no concealing the shit/Four gun cases, I'm still with this shit/Backlit, wood wheel when I whip/Got her right up on my lap, that's a real nigga risk/In the field on my tip/Hoes like Phil then I Stockton assist/It ain't no stoppin' shit, so avoid the potholes, put stocks on the 6" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "Black Faces"

    Childish Gambino Featuring Nipsey Hussle

    "Look, young rich nigga shit, pops was an immigrant/Lifestyle illegit, but know I own businesses/Started out the trunk, ended up at the dealership/All-gold Rollie, black face no blemishes/Legend in my city cause I grind so vigorous'/If I show my face west of Texas, that's a big event/Gotta pay me 20 cents just to hear me vent" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "Last Time That I Checc'd"

    Nipsey Hussle Featuring YG

    "I laid down the game for you niggas/Taught you how to charge more than what they paid for you niggas/Own the whole thing for you niggas/Re-invest, double up then explained for you niggas/It gotta be love, who run the whole city? It gotta be cuz/This for the pieces I took off the Monopoly board" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "Blue Laces"

    Nipsey Hussle Featuring Kokane

    "I started small time, dope game, cocaine/Seven grams and thirty rocks that/Was my program/The block propane, young nigga no change/Shootout with no aim, so they no yo name/Cuz when yo momma paid rent that was yo game/So when yo homeboy bled, that was yo pain/And if ya'll both catch a case you don't say no names/That's just the code of the color of my shoe strings" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "Killer"

    Nipsey Hussle Featuring Drake

    "Listen, look before rap my last name was my lifestyle/And when I visualize success it look like right now/What was once gray skies is now white clouds/And I did with the ones that y'all said was not the right crowd/Follow my steps and you'll see what I'm 'bout/I keep my money coming in and never going out/Chuck Taylors on the pavement with the blamma's out/Then I hit the league straight out the streets with no talent scout/And now my face bring the cameras out" —Nipsey Hussle

  • "Don't Take Days Off"

    Nipsey Hussle Featuring Tai Phillips and Quincey White

    "Yeah all this stress on my brain right/Poker face, I’m in the game right/Need a week to think, maybe eight nights/Some Promethazine and a straight flight/Let me cut off my phone, let me get in my zone/Let me center myself, just leave a nigga alone/I be back in a few, got some rappin' to do/Got some stacking still runnin', got some lapping to do" —Nipsey Hussle

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