The Marathon Continues: Justice for Asghedom Sleep Benefits of ASMR

Christpoher Villaseñor @villa_senorchris

ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. This means it stimulates the brain and triggers a tingling sensation throughout the body.

Ermias Asghedom, known to many as Nipsey Hussle, was murdered on March 31, 2019, outside his clothing store, The Marathon Clothing, in Los Angeles. Hussle was murdered by Eric Holder Jr., who was a member of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips” alongside Hussle.

Video surveillance from the lot showed clearly that Eric Holder Jr. was running with a gun in hand after he shot Hussle. Hussle wanted to move on from being in a gang, to being a motivational lyricist, expanding his clothing line, and venturing into business.

Deputy District Attorney John McKinney said that the defendant was jealous because Hussle’s music took off while Holder’s music gained no attraction. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times written by James Queall, Aaron Jansen, the public defender for Holder, wanted the judge to give him a 28-year sentence instead of 60 years.

The reason is that Holder was constantly getting hurt by inmates, and Jansen wanted Holder to be safe. He is getting constant death threats and is a target for inmates. Jansen pleaded for Holder to get a reduced sentence for his safety, but the judge did not grant it to him and sentenced Holder to 60 years in prison.

Hussle gave back to the community of Los Angeles, especially his neighborhood of Crenshaw, while also employing his friends and family.

Holder shot and murdered Hussle outside The Marathon Clothing store. Hussle was 33 years old when he was murdered. Hussle was signing autographs for his fans that day. Holder’s lawyer stated that what caused him to shoot Hussle was that he accused Holder of snitching while being in Rollin’ 60s territory. Holder did not take those accusations lightly and shot Hussle.

Hussle had invested so much into that lot for his business because he was focused on becoming a businessman, and to show his friends how it is possible that someone born and raised in the same neighborhood as him can also become successful.

Hussle was willing to teach people how to invest and make money outside the drug and gang world and how to better themselves. As mentioned in his song “Blue Laces 2” on his album “Victory Lap, Dropped out of school, I’ma teach myself Made my first mil’ on my own, I don’t need your help.”

Holder shot and killed Hussle outside the store in the parking lot where his clothing store is on Crenshaw Boulevard and Slauson Avenue. There was an argument between both Holder and Hussle which led to the murder of Hussle. Holder also shot two other men at the scene. Holder’s date drove him away from the scene to get away.

Holder was given 60 years of prison for the murder of Hussle, the attempted murder of two other men, and the use of a gun. Twenty five years for the murder, 25 years for the use of a handgun, and 10 additional years for shooting two other men.

Hussle’s death had the City of Los Angeles mourning with people from his neighborhood and city going straight to the Marathon Clothing store to bring candles, flowers, and show their respect to Hussle. Hussle’s music was being played at the lot where his clothing store was at and where he was murdered, as the Los Angeles community gathered to mourn the loss of their very own philanthropist. Prior to his album “Victory Lap,” Hussle was a well known rapper in Los Angeles but his latest album was the one taking him into stardom.

Hussle was beloved by his community because of his contributions, and his motivational lyrics. In his music he always showed love to his neighborhood and where he came from. For example on his song “Hussle & Motivate,” Hussle does not forget where he was raised with the lyrics, “Slauson Ave soldier raised” Hussle’s Grammy nominated album “Victory Lap” best explains his journey through Crenshaw onto the big stage as a rap artist. This album honors all the work Hussle put in,showing what he wanted to build as a musician and inspiring others.

Hussle’s legacy lives on as his music is still played even after his death, and his clothing brand “The Marathon Clothing,” that continues to sell out, with his fans buying his merchandise. As Hussle said, “The Marathon Continues,” and so will his legacy.

ASMR has been really prevalent for the past few years. With the start of YouTube, it has allowed creators to create a community that specializes in the creation of ASMR. Many YouTubers have millions of followers just by creating ASMR. Also, with the introduction of TikTok, many creators go live on the app just to show off ASMR “triggers.” Different creators create different sounds or so-called “triggers

Many people, especially teens, are now using ASMR to fall asleep. ASMR is meant to help you relax and relieve stress, so it only makes sense that it would help with sleep.

I interviewed student Brandon Sierra about if ASMR does help with sleep. “ASMR has actually helped me get through some stressful days, and I have used ASMR multiple times to fall asleep,” he said. I also asked him if he usually just watches ASMR creators, or does he watch multiple,he said, “I usually look up ASMR on my YouTube search and whatever video comes up first is the video I end up watching.”

Out of the 10 people that I asked if they used ASMR to fall asleep, seven said they did, and three said they didn’t.

One of the students that said it didn’t help was Diego Lopez. “I have heard about it and finally decided to give it a try but I could not get past the first 30 seconds,” he said. “It made me cringe, and I thought it was weird.”

This shows that for some students that actually use ASMR, it does help them fall asleep, but for others it could make them cry or uncomfortable.