Nipsey Hussle’s brother Samuel Asghedom has recently filed a lawsuit against Tia Hollis, and the Crips LLC for the unfair competition and unauthorized use of the “The Marathon Continues” catchphrase.
In some ways, this is a continuation of a legal matter that started in 2019 when both Crips LLC and Nipsey Hussle’s brother, who currently manages his affairs, attempted to trademark the phrase. Things quickly got pretty intense, which resulted in Asghedom, who also goes by the name Blacc Sam, threatening to sue. Apparently, the Crips LLC promised to drop their attempts in a statement which was shared by members of the street gang to The Blast.
“There will absolutely be no trademark legal battle between their organization and Blacc Sam, brother of the late Nipsey Hussle. [The Crips] respectively vows to support the wishes of Lauren London and the Asghedom family… We realize that our actions may have been offensive and we have reached out to his family, respectively Nip’s sister, Samantha Smith.”
Sadly, members of the Crips LLC did not follow through on their promise and are seemingly still using the phrase for commercial purposes. As mentioned by Blacc Sam, Nipsey developed the catchphrase while working on his two mixtapes, ‘The Marathon’ and ‘The Marathon Continues’, and later started a clothing line in 2011 based on the same phrase. On that basis, he has launched a new lawsuit on behalf of Nip’s estate seeking compensation to help eradicate any confusion between the original Marathon brand and Crips LLC.
James A. Bryant II, who currently represents the late rapper’s estate, spoke to Billboard where he said, “despite the outpouring support to Nipsey’s memory and his family, there are those who still seek to profit off his loss and tarnish his legacy all for personal and selfish gain. Because of these vultures, Nipsey’s family and his estate will do everything in their power to preserve and protect Nipsey’s legacy by any and all means, including taking legal action against those who would violate his memory.”
Nipsey Hussle was shot and killed in Los Angeles last year March following a dispute with a known gang member out his The Marathon Clothing store. His shooting suspect, Eric Holder, later turned himself in and is now awaiting trial.
