Lauren London gave an emotional and moving speech as she memorialized the love of her life at Nipsey Hussle’s public funeral service.
Wearing sunglasses and a white suit, Lauren took the podium and told the audience as she held back tears: “Never was I prepared for something like this so bear with me, y’all.”
She said she had never felt so much pain before and called Hussle’s soul “majestic.”
Nipsey was “brilliant … a divine light … completely self-taught … constantly seeking knowledge,” London said.
“My pain is for my 2-year-old who probably won’t remember how much his dad loved him,” Lauren said, adding that Ermias (Nipsey’s birth name) used to tell her you don’t get to possess people, but experience them, a statement she seemed to find some comfort in, but London was clearly heartbroken beyond words as she paid tribute to the man she’s loved for the past six years.
London also read aloud a text message she wrote to Nipsey in January 2019 as she watched him sleeping one morning.
“Ermias was asleep one morning, and I was watching him. I used to watch him sleep. I wrote him a text when he was sleeping so when he woke up he would read it,” she said.
The text read, in part: “I want you to know I feel real joy in my heart when I’m around you, I feel safe when I am around you, protected… I am totally myself when I am around you… I don’t wear my cool mask anymore. You’ve made me into more of a woman. Been with me when I am sick, through all my fears … inspired me to reach higher. You’ve been my turn up and my church. I wouldn’t want to go through this journey with anyone but you.”
She continued: “When we are at odds, I feel defeated and sad. You’ve been the greatest boyfriend to me. You aren’t perfect… you and I work. We fit, and you’re the coolest guy in the world to me… I love you … unconditionally. I’m never going to give up on you.”
London told the audience of more than 20,000 mourners that the grief over Nipsey’s death was not just hers, but also the community’s.
“We won’t ever be the same,” she said before reminding people of a line that Hussle used to say: “The game is going to test you. Never fold. Stay ten toes down. It’s not on you. It’s in you, and what’s in you, they can’t take away. And he’s in all of us.”
Lauren London concluded her eulogy with this: “And to Ermias, the love of my life … You know what it is. Grief is the final act of love. My heart hears you. I feel you everywhere. I’m so grateful that I had you. I love you beyond this earth. And until we meet again … the marathon continues.”
At one point during the service, Hussle’s kids, Emani and Kross, were brought on stage as well.
London’s son Kameron, whom she shares with rapper Lil Wayne, talked about a dream he had about “Ermias” and asked the crowd to say “Respect” on his count of three.
WATCH: Lauren London & Nipsey Hussle’s 2-Year-Old Son Kross Takes the Mic & Speaks at Dad’s Funeral
When it came time for Hussle’s daughter to speak, she was too nervous and upset. Instead, the mic was given to Kross, Hussle’s 2-year-old son he shared with London, who babbled a few baby words and received a lot of laughs from the crowd.
A letter from former President Barack Obama was also read out loud at the memorial service.
The letter read, in part: “I’ve never met Nipsey but I’ve heard his music through my daughters, and after his passing … While most folks look at the Crenshaw neighborhood where he grew up and see only gangs, bullets and despair, Nipsey saw potential. He saw hope… I hope his memory inspires more good work in Crenshaw and communities like it.”
