Nipsey Hussle built his empire around ownership, and his brother is making sure that vision lives on in his children.
In a new episode of The ONE54 Africa Podcast, Samiel “Blacc Sam” Asghedom opened up about how the family has protected Nipsey’s legacy since his death in 2019, revealing that the late rapper’s children own his entire catalog and hold a major stake in The Marathon brand.
“With my nephew and my niece, my brother, all his catalog, his music, even the Marathon films, the documentary, it was very important that we make sure that everything is in their names, that they know,” Blacc Sam told hosts Akbar Gbajabiamila and Godfrey.
That ownership extends to The Marathon Clothing, which Blacc Sam said was built with a small circle of original partners, including the late Stephen “Fats” Donaldson and their cousin Adam. Donaldson’s children are part of the company, and Nipsey’s share, which Blacc Sam described as “a big percentage,” belongs to Nipsey’s daughter, Emani, and son, Kross.
The same structure applies to everything new under The Marathon name, from Marathon Burger, which recently opened its fifth location at LAX, to a Marathon Beauty concept now in development. “That’s gonna be for all the original partners, and also my niece and my nephew,” he said.
Blacc Sam also gave an update on the long-awaited Nipsey Hussle documentary, a nine-episode project the family has been working on for years. He revealed that they turned down major offers to protect the vision. When asked about a reported $15 million to $20 million offer from Netflix, he said the deal fell apart over the format.
“They were saying it can only be two episodes. So we walked,” he said. A separate deal with Disney also fell through after the team couldn’t deliver it in time.
After years of setbacks, Blacc Sam says the family is now getting full control back. “Now we in a position to where we getting 100% of the rights back,” he said. “Now that we don’t have any debt on it, get somebody to come in with the last finishing funds, finish these episodes and release it.”
Even he is discovering new pieces of his brother’s story in the footage, including never-before-seen moments from family trips to Africa and the day Emani was born. “As we’re editing, I’m seeing things that I didn’t even know existed,” he said. “As long as we do this right, people gonna be crazy when they see this.”
In the meantime, the team recently premiered a documentary on the making of Prolific, the joint album from Nipsey and West Coast artist Bino Rideaux, at the Grammy Museum, where Blacc Sam said it received a standing ovation.
The episode also featured Rideaux, who shared studio memories with Nipsey, and Nipsey’s father, Dawit Asghedom, who reflected on his journey from Eritrea to the U.S. and the values that shaped his son’s commitment to community.
