Ghanaian tech genius who helped Nipsey Hussle set up his smart store shares his fondest memories with the rapper

“Nipsey is the reason why most of you know me today, he delivered me to the gates of hip hop’s sanctuary and protected me from the evils at bay,” said Ghanaian-American tech genius Iddris Sandu.

The entire entertainment industry is yet to come to terms with the death of Nipsey Hussle, who was gunned down in front of his Marathon Clothing store in South LA on Sunday.

The suspected gunman, 29-year-old Eric Holder, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon on Thursday. He has, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to The New York Times.

Tributes have been pouring in from loved ones and friends of the Slauson rapper who is survived by a daughter from a previous relationship and a son with whom he has with his girlfriend, actress Lauren London.

Among those deeply affected by the Eritrean-American rapper’s demise is his close friend and partner, Iddris Sandu. The Ghanaian-American tech genius, who is responsible for algorithms that have made Uber, Instagram and Snapchat what they are today helped Nipsey set up his Marathon Clothing store in 2017.

Ghanaian-American tech genius Iddris Sandu with Nipsey Hussle — Photo via @iddris_sandu on Twitter

Known as the world’s first “smart store”, Marathon Clothing allows customers to download exclusive music and other content through an app.

The store leverages Iddris’ tech and design background and Nipsey’s cultural influences, sparking the interests of many journalists as well as hip hop and cultural icons like Russell Westbrook, Vegas Jones of Roc Nation, among others.

Nipsey to me was what jay-z was to Ye ; giving him the chain of authenticity.

so just imagine what I’m going through right now.

having worked with him to build his store,

travelling the world with him,

and spending alot of time with him.

rest in eternal power hussle the 🐐 pic.twitter.com/yXlgAUt9RT

— iddris sandu (@iddris_sandu) April 1, 2019

In an interview with the CNBC, Sandu said the store has helped him bridge the gap between culture and technology, and would love others to do same.

“We are living in the digital revolution,” he said. Although “we are all constantly exposing ourselves to content in real-time.”

“We need to address the largest issues affecting communities and build infrastructure on that,” Sandu said.

Ghanaian-American tech genius Iddris Sandu with Nipsey Hussle — Photo via @iddris_sandu on Twitter

 Sandu took to his Instagram page to pay tribute to the Grammy-nominated rapper: 

View this post on Instagram

woke up this morning with my eyes still swollen from the tears I shed last night ; convinced that this was all a bad dream. for his life to pass right in the very store we built together. yesterday my soul lost fragments that can never be restored. ‏‏‎ my soul truly aches at such a tragic loss personally as well as for culture. ‏‏‎ More than a hip hop artist, Nipsey IS also a revolutionary, an activist, a father, a brother and a close friend. ‏‏‎ I use "is" because to use "was" is to imply that his message had passed with him. ‏‏‎ no, my brothers message still lives on. ‏‏‎ through me, though his family and through our community. ‏‏‎ I'm not even going to compare him to any other legends that preceded him because hip-hop has NEVER had someone like him. PERIOD. His message was BIGGER than hip-hop. And this is where our missions intersected. Nipsey is the reason why most of you know me today, he delivered me to the gates of hip hop's sanctuary and protected me from the evils at bay. ‏‏‎ In the last in-person dialogue i had with him, Nipsey urged me to continue to light the torch for the culture, no matter what. ‏‏‎ To be his protégé influencing in a field that transcends music, I vow to continue pushing forward the culture, because it's what he would want and knew was necessary . ‏‏‎ The universe/God has a very interesting way of orchestrating and bringing us together, ‏‏‎ even if we don't innerstand the circumstances of its decisions. ‏‏‎ I'll conclude with this truth. Nipsey's album was titled VICTORY LAP. A lap often ran last as a celebration of a breakthrough ; ‏‏‎ which he did run and made it through. In the moment right after he crossed the line, he passed me the baton to continue the light. ‏‏‎ I could just see him right in front of me saying "keep going young king...keep going" ‏‏‎ Rest in power and abundance hussle tha great, for true legends never die. mA ‏‏‎ the marathon continues...............🏁

A post shared by architect (@iddrissandu) on Apr 1, 2019 at 10:05am PDT