Nipsey Hussle’s reading list inspires ‘The Marathon Book Club’

Fans of U.S rapper, Nipsey Hussle, have created a reading list based on some of the books he cited in songs and interviews.

The list inspired by a fan, Simran Kaleka, went viral and led 76 men of color to create The Marathon Book Club.

According to the LA Times, the Marathon Book Club is based in Los Angeles, Oakland, New York, and Washington. The chapters with over 70 members meet monthly to discuss the book. They are mostly black men and Latinos who are entrepreneurs, academicians, bankers, and corporate executives.

During meetings, they discuss their goals, struggles and how to achieve them.

The list speaks to a wide range of social issues. They detail Hussle’s dedication to self-improvement and improve positive impact, especially on marginalized groups.

Essence reports that the list includes books like Blood in My Eye by George Jackson, a memoir by an inmate-turned-activist who spent more than a decade in prison after stealing $70; Contagious by Jonah Berger, a guide that explains how to make ideas and content popular; and The Spook Who Sat by the Door by Sam Greenlee. Also, it has a fictional novel about a former gang member who transitions from the CIA to training young black men in Chicago as “Freedom Fighters.” According to the Times, the book’s title was the inspiration behind an album that Hussle never got to produce.

Rashad Drakeford, the 32-year-old, who founded the book club, has a high-powered job at a tech company.

“I’m not being heard in the way that I want to,” he said. “Now I’m at a place where, do I take all the skills, experiences and avenues and apply it to doing good for us? That’s a hard point to get to.”

Hussle was born Ermias Davidson Asghedom on August 15, 1985, to an Eritrean father and an African-American mother. 

He left behind a daughter and a son.