Los Angeles Metro is honoring one of the city’s most accomplished and beloved residents with a renamed rail station and transit cards. From Friday, August 15th through August 31st to commemorate his 40th birthday, Hyde Park station will temporarily be renamed the Nipsey Hussle Station after the rapper whose efforts revitalized the neighborhood surrounding it. Those familiar with Hussle’s music can probably figure out where it’s located, even without being from LA: right there on the corner of Crenshaw and Slauson.
In addition, the city is issuing two limited-edition TAP cards (the NFC-enabled cards used by Angelenos to get around), which feature the rapper’s likeness. The first, “Crenshaw & Slauson,” bears the iconic image of Nipsey at that intersection taken by Jonathan Mannion, while the other, “Watts,” was taken of Nipsey sprawled in the backseat of a Metro bus. The cards will be available at select stations and at Metro Customer Centers on Friday, August 15.
The cards and station renaming are part of the agency’s Metro x Culture initiative, which “aims to connect the agency with the heart of Los Angeles’ vibrant cultural landscape by collaborating with prolific local artists, musicians, community heroes and influential brands,” according to the press release. Only 12,000 of the cards will be released. See below for photos and a list of stations where they can be obtained.
The Hyde Park, Crenshaw, Slauson, Compton, Hollywood/Vine and Expo/Crenshaw Stations will carry the cards at their dispensers. New participants signing up for Metro’s LIFE Program in South Los Angeles will receive one of the commemorative cards, as well. For more info, you can visit metro.net/nipsey.
