"The Marathon Don't Stop" by Rob Kenner is by far one of my absolute favorite memoirs of all time! As a huge Nipsey Hussle fan, I will admit this one was hard to read at times. I can even admit to crying through the last two chapters. This book was just so well-written and highly detailed that I know Nipsey himself would have been so very proud.

"The Marathon Don't Stop" is a journey through Nipsey's life, colored by his environment, influences, his love of the music, and his true hustler mentality. In reading, we are given access to his hopes, his dreams, and his perfectly planned vision to make these dreams tangible. Not only do we he see his successes, we see the many times he was tried and knocked down, only to get up and go harder. His life was a true testament to finding your purpose and trusting your vision. The author executes this so beautifully in this book.

One thing I love about this book is it doesn't get into celebrity gossip or drama at all. It gives the straight facts about Nipsey, his family, those closest to him, and pays homage to the true talent that Nipsey was.

If I could teach a class on Nipsey Hussle, this book would be the required reading for the curriculum. Well-researched is an understatement. This book was major!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Atria for the e-copy of The Marathon Don't Stop.

This was a good read. Great insight on Nipsey's life as I was only familiar with his music and didn't know much about his a person. Well written with nice details and history.

Thank you for allowing me to review The Marathon Don't Stop. This book was challenging to read - not because of the writing- but because of what Nipsey Hustle meant to so many. Even though I did not know this individual, I was proud of how much he achieved while cultivating a family structure and loving his children. To learn more about him and his philosophies made me even sadder at his untimely demise as it solidified for me how tragic - like a greek tragedy- his death was to the world and people who loved him.

I found Kenner’s biography of Nipsey a quick read and found myself wanting to go right back to it whenever I had to put it down.

Kenner has done an excellent job telling this story in a style that makes the reader feel as if they are getting to know Nipsey throughout the story by using his own words - and commentary from those closest to him - to help readers understand his motivations and perspectives. This makes the book so much richer than a traditional biography.

I would recommend this book to anyone; I don’t think you need to be a fan of Nipsey, rap, or biographies to enjoy Kenner’s book.

Interesting and thought provoking. I will be honest and say I didn’t know him prior to his death. Mainly because I listen to music I grew up with. But I feel like sometimes you don’t know people until after their death and it sucks because their journey is so much more than that.

I have heard so much about Nipsey Hussle through friends who sang his praises and knew he was pushing for positive change. I miss him through their admiration of his work and hope his legacy can continue living through those who listened to his music and encouraged his outspoken change.

Amazing, I found this so I sightful on Nipsy and idk it made me miss him even more. Excellent. I loved it.

This whole biography is very clearly a labor of love and acknowledgment of a great man who had a profound impact on his community. Nipsey Hussle wanted to show the world his greatness, but he didn't do it at the expense of his community. He wanted to bring them up with him. He saw the gaps in his community and developed ways to fill that need by providing co-working space a and community programs to support creativity for youth and adults. He encouraged others to hustle the way he did, to find something they were passionate about and work towards that.

This book reads as a history lesson about not only Hussle's life, but also the rap genre, L.A., and police brutality and protests. Kenner's writing is accessible and filled with the words of the people he's talking about. He incorporates quotes seamlessly into the story, giving readers the sense that they're getting a really full picture of who Hussle was, where he came from, and what he stood for.

I was never really a fan of Nipsey. I loved his relationship with Lauren London and how respected he was as an individual. This book gave me an entirely different outlook on the man known as Nipsey Hussle. It was more than music for him. It was about teaching and saving his people. This is one book that should be on every reader's bookshelf

Before I start the review I want to say there were a few typos in the book

I knew Nipsey Hussle's name but not who he was as an artist or person. After reading this, I wish we would have been able to see everything else he planned to accomplish. As I read, I could see what Rob wrote. It was almost like reading a movie script. I even heard Nipsey's voice as I read things he said. Learning about the relationship between LAPD and the city made me angry. They don't even give our Black men a chance to be great, but Nipsey was an anomaly and they took that personally. I plan to listen to more of Nipsey's music but this book made me a fan of him outside of music. Some people allow for their environments to block them from thinking big because their minds aren't free. The most important thing Ermias Asghedom taught me was to never stop. No matter what it looks like now, The Marathon Continues 🏁.

It story was so sad but his rise to fame was inspiring. The world lost a good one when he left. I was so excited to drive into this one.
I’d definitely recommend it to others

Beautiful story. Captivating. Couldn’t stop reading it. Highly recommend it for all ages. Would buy my own copy

This book shows that Mr. Hussle was so much more than a rapper. It shows his intelligence, his strive to be more and do more, but above all it shows the man he was. Very well written book about this man. Intriguing read. The world lost a lot with his untimely death. I highly recommended this book to all. Maybe we can learn something from him. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

Ermias Joseph Asghedom was born on August 15, 1985. The world knows him by a name that sounds phonetically pleasing: Nipsey Hussle. A prolific, self-gifted, hip hop mogul, entrepreneur, artist and activist. In the first in-depth biography of Nipsey Hussle, journalist Rob Kenner delves into his life and times, music career and ahead-of-the-times business movement.

Allow me to warn that The Marathon Don't Stop is an emotional read. Rob Kenner explores tough times in Nipsey's life with emphasis on L.A. gang culture, the LAPD, supporting the hood, and street violence. However, it is balanced with many high points. Nonfiction books are not typically page-turners. But I could not put the book down without looking forward to resuming.

By the last chapter, I was sad the book came to an end, sad for his family that no doubt miss him and sad for his absence in the music industry. The most emotional part was Kenner pointing out that Nipsey did indeed meet one of his goals (selling out Staples Center) even though he wasn't alive to witness it.

Majority of this well written biography is positive and motivational. It highlights Nipsey's many accomplishments, work ethic and strong family ties. Interviews and quotes are expertly woven into a story that is smooth reading. I recommend pairing reading with playing songs/lyrics that are referenced as well as adding his favorite books to your reading lists. Yes, Nipsey had a love for literature that has inspired book clubs all over the country.

Victory Lap is still in heavy rotation. I listen to at least one song on the album every single day. It was great to read the story behind the lyrics and how it relates to the late artist. The Marathon Don't Stop covers the origin of his name, early career and the impact of his death in the hip hop world, as well as in the city of Los Angeles. It is well researched and celebrates Ermias' life. Well done and thank you, Mr. Kenner.

Whether you are a Nipsey Hussle fan or not, The Marathon Don't Stop is recommended for all. You just gotta read it!

~LiteraryMarie

This book is an unauthorized biography of the life of Nipsey Hu$$le. It is greatly annotated with bibliographies and interview excerps.

I greatly enjoyed this book. I knew about Hussle, I enjoy his music to this day and I was greatly hurt when he was forced into his transition from this life earlier than the world would have liked. In this book, I was able to learn about his mental capacity to create wealth for himself and for those he cared for. As an intelligent and voracious reader, Hussle dropped out of school, and yet, his sound mind for business and his self-taught education on the entertainment industry allowed him to leave his children and family taken care of after his passing at the age of 33.

This book takes readers through Hussle's long road to find his own success and the deep meaning of his lyrics in his raps. It goes beyond the man himself and brings his brilliant mind and amazing soul to the forefront. His character was something we all should strive for. He was dedicated, educated, strong, and deep. There are even excerpts of interviews from people Hussle worked with early on with his music, that even though they lost touch, they were surprised to see that he credited them on his album Victory Lap.

Hussle felt it important to keep himself near his home of LA. The streets that he grew in, learned in, fought in, and eventually, would die in. His "buy back the block" mentality was one where people of color should and CAN buy their own land, build their own businesses, and keep "All Money In." This book tells the setbacks, frustrations and yet it shows the determination of Hussle and his brother to keep their money and their businesses in LA on Slauson and Crenshaw.

This book brought me to tears many times. It focuses on the man Nipsey was at his core. I enjoyed the different tales and the new things that I learned about the man and about his motivation to become his own asset and to keep earning money for his work. I would definitely recommend this book to readers. There are lessons to be derived and it shows that what we do while we are on this earth sustains people long after our souls have left our physical bodies. We can still teach, love, and help others grow.

Rob Kenner brings the culture of Crenshaw and the support of the LA Community to life through his vivid depictions of Nipsey Hussle's journey from student to rap mogul. His interviews throughout offer even more insight into the young rapper's identity. A must-read for those who are fans of Nipsey's work and even those who are looking to broaden their understanding of the distrust for police in LA neighborhoods

A great look into the life of the man, artist, father, philanthropist and more, Nipsey Hussle. I knew a bunch of things about him from his music, but this book definitely provided more depth and details about events in his life and what led him to be the man and artist that so many loved. I also appreciated the historical aspects that detailed this history of LA’s race relations and how this also affected him. Nipsey’s dedication to his people and his community was inspiriring and his legacy definitely lives on. The Marathon Continues 🏁

The Marathon Don’t Stop is an inspiring tale of the life of Nipsey Hussle. The author takes us on a guided-tour journey from that fateful day, to young Ermias, through his entrepreneurial spirit, to his legacy and impact he made from the corner of Crenshaw and Slauson to around the world.

The accounts of Nipsey Hussle, not only as a business man and rap artist, but as man’s man showed his unwavering love for his family and friends but for his neighborhood and the black culture that he was so proud to be apart of.

This book is testament to the man who will forever be known as Hussle The Great, and a blueprint for everyone to pick up the baton that he left behind because the marathon continues and it don’t stop.

Robert Kenner takes an in depth look at the great influence that Nipsey Hussle had on so many during his tragically short life. This biography uses interviews from the inner circle of friends and family close to Nipsey, his social media posts, his own interviews and music lyrics to tell the story of Ermias Joseph Asghedom and how he became Nispey Hussle. Rob also explores the history of Los Angeles, California and the origins of systemic racism that plagues the city often viewed as a progressive melting pot. This work was not rushed and results in an extensive bibliography to prove it.

As another anniversary of his transition approaches, the legacy of Nipsey is one that can not be extinguished simple because the body is gone. He liberated the minds of so many and stayed true to himself, his family, his community and his culture. This book is a love letter to the fans of Nipsey Hussle and a well done introduction for those unfamiliar with the man. This book was published in hardcover on March 23, 2021.


Big thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was blown away by this book. I had no idea all of the things that made Nipsey Hussle so legendary. Prior to his death, only one person has ever had their funeral in The Staples Center and that was Michael Jackson. Since his death, Kobe Bryant. What makes Hussle so legendary to be included with all of these greats? Well pick up the damn book!

Nip was LA. He was raised by the streets and he was dedicated to give back to the streets. You do not see many rappers or celebrities for that matter that rise to fame and put their community above all else. His city invested in him and that idea was never lost on him and so he was adamant in investing into his city. Whether it was starting businesses, building work spaces for his community to network, bringing in STEM classes to prepare residents for science and tech jobs, creating jobs, and even meeting with police to develop rapport, he wanted his city to have the same come up that he did. "What's interesting about Nipsey Hussle is that his capitalism was activism."

His ending was so tragic and it truly was a devastating loss to the community. The book captures how prominent his absence is but somehow at the same time, his presence is still abundant.

"The game is gonna 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."