Stevie Wonder Calls For Stricter Gun Control Laws At Nipsey Hussle’s Memorial

“Then when I die, blue rag around my rifle / Hunnid thousand in my coffin, that’s just life though / Play a Stevie Wonder song, smoke some flight, bro / Crack a pint of Actavis then pour in some Sprite, bro / Until that day I’m walking toward what’s in my sights, though.”
–Nipsey Hussle, “Ocean Views”

The Motown icon fulfilled that wish earlier today, as Stevie Wonder sang his song “Rocket Love” as well as Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven” at Nipsey Hussle’s memorial service. Thousands gathered at the Staples Center and lined the streets of Los Angeles to pay their respects to the rapper who was murdered nearly two weeks ago, and during the service Wonder took the opportunity to call for stronger gun control laws to make it more difficult for people to obtain firearms.

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“I had the pleasure through someone I was very close to…who arranged a meeting for myself to have a meeting with him for us to talk,” the singer said of meeting the rapper. “It is a heartbreak to again lose a member of our family. It is a heartbreak because it’s so unnecessary. We, to be a civilized nation, civilized world, we still are living in a time where ego, anger, jealousy is controlling our lives. It is so painful to know that we don’t have enough people taking a position that says: ‘Listen, we must have stronger gun laws. It’s unacceptable.’”

“It’s almost like the world is becoming blind…I pray that we grow; I pray that the leaders who have a responsibility to perpetuate life will do it by making sure that the laws will make it so very hard for people to have guns and to take their frustrations out.”