The Latest: Nipsey Hussle procession ends at funeral home

LOS ANGELES — The Latest on the memorial for slain rapper Nipsey Hussle, which is being held at Los Angeles' Staples Center and will be followed by a 25-mile procession through the streets of South Los Angeles (all times local):

7:40 p.m.

The "Victory Lap" of Nipsey Hussle's funeral procession has ended.

A silver hearse carrying Hussle's remains has pulled in to the Angelus Funeral Home after a 25-mile procession through the city that started following the rapper's memorial service at the Staples Center earlier Thursday.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets to catch a glimpse of the procession. The hearse stopped outside Hussle's The Marathon clothing store, giving fans gathered there additional time to mourn the rapper.

Hussle was killed March 31 outside The Marathon.

Last year he hit new heights with "Victory Lap," his critically acclaimed major-label debut album on Atlantic Records that made several critics' best-of lists and earned him a Grammy nomination.

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4:30 p.m.

The procession of Nipsey Hussle's casket through the streets of Los Angeles has arrived and paused at the slain rapper's clothing store.

A silver hearse carrying Hussle's casket stopped outside The Marathon clothing store after being on the road for more than three hours on its 25-mile trek through the city. Thousands of people had gathered at the shop to pay tribute to the rapper, who was fatally shot outside the store on March 31.

Hussle founded his The Marathon and planned it to be the anchor of a revitalization effort for the area where he grew up.

Some onlooked threw flowers on top of the roof of the hearse as it inched through the crowd.

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3 p.m.

Crowds are flooding the streets to view the procession of Nipsey Hussle's casket through Los Angeles.

Hussle's body is being carried in a silver hearse that is flanked by motorcyles — both those of police and bikers and ATVs. Footage aired by Fox affiliate KTTV showed some of the bikes doing wheelies as the procession traveled down Vermont Avenue, one of the city's major thoroughfares.

A crowd of people briefly blocked the procession before the hearse was able to find an opening and pull through.

The 25-mile procession will wind its way through the streets of South Los Angeles, including a trip past Hussle's clothing store, The Marathon, where he was gunned down March 31.

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2:10 p.m.

Nipsey Hussle's memorial service has ended with a video tribute to the rapper and his casket being carried out of Los Angeles' Staples Center.

Pallbearers including Hussle's younger brother Samiel Asghedom carried the casket out of the 21,000-seat arena. It will soon begin a 25-mile procession through the streets of Los Angeles.

The rapper was eulogized by several family members and Pastor Shep Crawford, who told mourners that Hussle managed to unite groups that are historically opposed to one another, including the Crips and Bloods gangs and the police and "the hood."

Crawford told the crowd that Hussle "now lives in you."

The rapper, who was fatally shot outside his clothing store, The Marathon, on March 31, was remembered during Thursday's memorial for his efforts to lift his community as he was for his music.

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This post and one from 11:50 a.m. have been corrected to show that Hussle brother's first name is Samiel, not Samuel.

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1 p.m.

Nipsey Hussle's fiancee, actress Lauren London, has shared with the world a private text she sent him. 

She told the crowd at the rapper's memorial at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Thursday that before he awoke one morning in January, she poured out through her phone what he meant to her.  

She said she told him through sickness and through fears he "encouraged, surprised" and "urged me to reach higher." She says she told him he was the "coolest guy in the world," and said he was "my turn-up and my church."  

She told the crowd, "We lost someone very rare to us. We lost a real one. We won't ever be the same." 

Looking up and speaking directly to Hussle, she said, "I love you with all this earth, and until we meet again, the marathon continues." 

The crowd roared in applause.

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11:50 a.m.

Nipsey Hussle's mother and his brother have eulogized the slain rapper with tender anecdotes.

Samiel Asghedom recounted how he, Hussle and other young men would mow lawns and do other chores around their neighborhood. Asghedom says while he and others would work for hours to earn $15, his older brother would end the day with a couple hundred dollars.

He also recounted how Hussle was able to purchase the shopping center where his The Marathon clothing store is based, ending the threat of eviction. He says his brother put his "heart and his soul" in the center and his death "really don't make sense."

Hussle's mother, Angelique Smith, recounted how as a young boy Hussle was able to quickly track down firefighters to put out an engine fire in their vehicle. Even after the fire was out, the engine started up and they were able to keep driving.

Smith said after recounting the incident: "We're burning, but we're not destroyed." 

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11:15 a.m.

A letter from former president Barack Obama extolling the virtues of Nipsey Hussle has been read at the slain rapper's funeral.

The letter from Obama said he had never met the rapper, but had "heard his music through my daughters" and he later learned about Hussle's transformation and efforts to transform his South Los Angeles community.

He praised Hussle's vision, saying the rapper and community activist saw potential and hope in the Crenshaw neighborhood he grew up in and that lured him into a gang as a young man. Obama's letter states that Hussle "saw a community that even through its flaws taught him to always keep going."

The letter states Hussle's legacy is worth celebrating and Obama says he hopes Hussle's efforts inspire "more good work in Crenshaw and communities like it."

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11 a.m.

The memorial service for slain rapper Nipsey Hussle has started with a reading from scripture and a slideshow of photos set to Frank Sinatra's "My Way."

Pastor Reid Rich linked the rapper to the biblical figure Joseph before the photo montage started.

The service has drawn thousands to the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles and is being livestreamed by BET and others. The ceremony will feature performances by Stevie Wonder, Jhene Aiko and singer-songwriter Anthony Hamilton.

It will be followed by a 25-mile procession of Hussle's casket throughout the city, including the South Los Angeles neighborhood where Hussle grew up and was trying to improve, with his clothing store The Marathon an anchor of his redevelopment efforts.

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10:10 a.m.

The start of the memorial service for rapper Nipsey Hussle has been delayed.

Large crowds of people are still waiting to get into the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, where the service will be held. The ceremony, featuring performances by Stevie Wonder and others, will be livestreamed by BET .

At 10 a.m., the service's scheduled start time, the 21,000 seat arena was about half full.

A crowd of fans and mourners congregated outside the venue Thursday morning, with many wearing clothes that had images of Hussle on them.

Hussle was shot and killed March 31 outside his The Marathon clothing store in South Los Angeles.

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9 a.m.

Mourners at Nipsey Hussle's Celebration of Life ceremony are being given a nearly 100-page book that includes remembrances from Rick Ross, The Game, Issa Rae and Lebron James.

The book also contains numerous pictures of Hussle with his fiancée Lauren London, his children, Russell Westbrook and Snoop Dogg.

The memorial service is being held Thursday morning at the 21,000 seat Staples Center under heavy security.

The service will feature performances by Stevie Wonder, Jhene Aiko and singer-songwriter Anthony Hamilton.

Rae's message says she has never cried herself to sleep over the death of a public figure, but she did after Hussle was killed on March 31.

Following the two-hour service, which is being Livestreamed on BET's Facebook page, there will be a 25-mile procession of Hussle's casket through the streets of South Los Angeles.

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12 a.m.

Rapper Nipsey Hussle will be mourned at a public memorial expected to draw thousands to the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The Nipsey Hussle Celebration of Life ceremony will be held at the 21,000-seat downtown arena at 10 a.m. Thursday. No details were given about who may be appearing, performing or speaking.

It will be livestreamed on BET News' Facebook page .

Hussle was shot to death March 31 while standing outside his South Los Angeles clothing store, not far from where he grew up.

A 25-mile procession of Hussle's casket through the streets of Los Angeles will follow the service.

The 33-year-old Grammy-nominated rapper was a father of two and was engaged to actress Lauren London.

Eric R. Holder Jr., who is charged with killing Hussle, has pleaded not guilty.