I love how you are thinking about place, ancestry, & hip hop. I'm honored to learn a small piece about your family history & how Eretria as a site of memory/knowledge shaped both you & Nipsey. The marathon continues in L.A., your family, your work, & where your feet are planted 💙. Keep doing it "real big!"
It really is sad and angering when you think of the utter damage brought upon African nations due to both colonialism in the past as well as the current neocolonialism, in which the main parties that benefit are the multinational corporations and certain global institutions.
Insightful and inspiring article on Eritrea’s struggle for independence and on Nipsey, Zefan. Thanks for sharing this.
I'm so glad I book marked this. Thank you for this small history lesson on Eretria, as well as what it means to you and how you live those values. I'm curious to learn more about the country now!
This was so powerful. Thank you for sharing. I think all of us diasporians, no matter how long our families have been away, can learn and grow from this!
This is AMAZING! I am a huge Nipsey fan and he has influenced my life in a major way. Your writing along with your voice feels like home. Wow! Thank you for this gift!
I find it to be no coincidence that you used the word prolific, a word he had tattooed along his hairline. A tattoo I viewed to be so empowering that once I felt confident in myself and my accomplishments I too got the same tattoo. The order prolific, this shared tattoo I have with Nipsey serves a a reminder that I too can beat the odds and be unapologetically me! Ah man I could go on for days with my thoughts. This read is very special to me! Thank you Zefan!
Learning about the Eritrean revolution and Ethiopian revolution in great depth awhile back was one of they most interesting and fascinating things I’ve encountered. I often pull from what I learned from these revolutions to form a lot of my radical thought processes today.
That’s incredible. There’s a lot of revolutionaries from these places that I admire. Would love to hear more about this topic if you ever choose to explore!
This was such a beautiful heart-warming read. It's feels like a privilege to learn history (especially a victorious one) from the diaspora, thank you. One of my favorite quotes from Hussle is "it's not on you, it's in you" and to read that the Eritreans are big steppers (only kneeling to pray or shoot) feels kismet lol <3. Happy Independence Day!
Hi Bry’onna, I’m so happy that you connected with this essay and our history! I love that quote from Nipsey — big self-reliance energy. Thank you for the Independence Day wishes! 🇪🇷
Zefan thank you so much for sharing this! As an LA native, Nipsey's murder was so deeply felt by so many people in my immediate sphere and his impact continues to be acknowledged and felt around the city. It's beautiful to hear about the origins of his efforts and the impact that same experience had on you!
I love how you are thinking about place, ancestry, & hip hop. I'm honored to learn a small piece about your family history & how Eretria as a site of memory/knowledge shaped both you & Nipsey. The marathon continues in L.A., your family, your work, & where your feet are planted 💙. Keep doing it "real big!"
I’m so glad you connected to it, Kay! The marathon continues 🏁
'...a fight against African neocolonialism...'
It really is sad and angering when you think of the utter damage brought upon African nations due to both colonialism in the past as well as the current neocolonialism, in which the main parties that benefit are the multinational corporations and certain global institutions.
Insightful and inspiring article on Eritrea’s struggle for independence and on Nipsey, Zefan. Thanks for sharing this.
Couldn’t agree more. Appreciate you engaging with the essay!
I'm so glad I book marked this. Thank you for this small history lesson on Eretria, as well as what it means to you and how you live those values. I'm curious to learn more about the country now!
So glad you read this one!! I think I’ll write more about it, writing this felt so good. Appreciate you being here 💛
This was so powerful. Thank you for sharing. I think all of us diasporians, no matter how long our families have been away, can learn and grow from this!
This makes me so happy, so glad you’re here 🥹
Zefan, I love the way you tied it all together. Gorgeous work
Thank you so much for this! It's giving me the courage to play with structure a bit more :)
You handled this one masterfully. I struggle to connect the macro with the micro but your execution was perfect.
Gorgeous and insightful. Very encouraging. I've never known so much about all of this. How vast the world and the depths of the human heart!
So honored to be able to share my little corner of the world to you!
You did the damn thing. This is beautiful.
Thanks for being here man, truly ♥️
This is AMAZING! I am a huge Nipsey fan and he has influenced my life in a major way. Your writing along with your voice feels like home. Wow! Thank you for this gift!
It is so incredible to hear this! He truly was prolific. It means the world that I was able to bring you and I closer to him again!
I find it to be no coincidence that you used the word prolific, a word he had tattooed along his hairline. A tattoo I viewed to be so empowering that once I felt confident in myself and my accomplishments I too got the same tattoo. The order prolific, this shared tattoo I have with Nipsey serves a a reminder that I too can beat the odds and be unapologetically me! Ah man I could go on for days with my thoughts. This read is very special to me! Thank you Zefan!
Learning about the Eritrean revolution and Ethiopian revolution in great depth awhile back was one of they most interesting and fascinating things I’ve encountered. I often pull from what I learned from these revolutions to form a lot of my radical thought processes today.
That’s incredible. There’s a lot of revolutionaries from these places that I admire. Would love to hear more about this topic if you ever choose to explore!
This was such a beautiful heart-warming read. It's feels like a privilege to learn history (especially a victorious one) from the diaspora, thank you. One of my favorite quotes from Hussle is "it's not on you, it's in you" and to read that the Eritreans are big steppers (only kneeling to pray or shoot) feels kismet lol <3. Happy Independence Day!
Hi Bry’onna, I’m so happy that you connected with this essay and our history! I love that quote from Nipsey — big self-reliance energy. Thank you for the Independence Day wishes! 🇪🇷
Thank you!
Zefan thank you so much for sharing this! As an LA native, Nipsey's murder was so deeply felt by so many people in my immediate sphere and his impact continues to be acknowledged and felt around the city. It's beautiful to hear about the origins of his efforts and the impact that same experience had on you!
I really appreciate you sharing this, Kali. It’s always amazing to hear about the impact he made, and incredible that it continues to be felt.
Great article, thank you for sharing you thoughts!
Thank you, David! Glad to have you here.
Thank you, Nzinga! I was a little worried about how well that would work so this comment made me smile.
Thank you Eleanor, hearing that it resonated with you means so much!