PREFACE
I’m probably just famished
searching for meaning, because I’m lost
But, I’ll be damned if anybody tells me Nipsey wasn’t a Boss
Not because he told others what to do,
But instead he helped people,
and mastered knowledge of self
It’s evident in his philosophy about gaining wealth (All Money In)
And I was unhoused by the news of his passing because he was so much like me
Not his life’s trajectory
Nor his gangster proclivities
Nor his swagger
Nor the fact that he was a young Crip respected by OGs
Rather I identified with him because he was an American Black man
who strove to determine his own destiny
no matter if he was set-back physically or mentally
And then there are the parallels
between Nipsey and Jesus that have me scratching my head in disbelief
Jesus died at the age of 33
Anybody dying at that age doesn’t unhouse me
Tell me that the deceased
Strove to help his community
Set examples for future leaders
And invested his money wisely
Then you at least have my attention
Because those lofty goals match my ambition
And when I heard about Nipsey dying at 33
I immediately thought about Jesus
I didn’t think that Nipsey was Jesus
Rather I thought about the similarities
He led a movement during his lifetime
And lost his life later on down the line
His legacy will continue to live in all of us
In our hearts and minds
Let’s ponder other commonalities
Yashua Ben Josef was betrayed by a man and later killed by his enemies, Romans
And American Blacks are killed at the hands of our enemies,
Who shot ’em? a police-man
And I can’t stand to see
Images of us being murdered on TV
yearly
monthly
weekly
daily
So witnessing Nipsey murdered by a traitor
Has made life seem so unfair
Especially because we know that Judas betrayed Jes-uz
And Nipsey’s betrayal was at the hands of __________
Jesus cavorted with prostitutes who in his time were the lowest of low
In modern times police equate gangbangers as the equivalent of those
So even if our savior can be made of one who stooped down
Remember this so as not to be too quick to judge those who wear the crown
Now Bethleham is not close to
but not far from the region
where an ancient biblical kingdom
from which Asghedom traces back to Punt and Axum
Modern day Yemen, Ethiopia, and Eritrea
Habesha
Once ruled by Queen of Sheba
Abrahamic religions were all birthed from Africa by original Hue-mans
For instance, Jesus is mentioned more than Mohammad in the Qur’an
Coincidence? I think not.
Also, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, are one and the same
Even though the Prophets have different names
Professor Dr. John Henrik Clarke spoke against religiosity
He said putting religion down increases spirituality
And Rastafarians believe Haile Selassie was a reincarnation of the ChristWell I say that Ermias Asghedom should be deified during our time of life.
Some of you aren’t trying to hear what I have to say,
But I’ll give it a shot anyway…
The Poem: 109
This poem is called 109, the day of my birth
A day in the life of a legend named LARRY
Do you believe in coincidences? don’t be scary
Just because I’m talking about an omen, you might think I’m joking
but I don’t care, it’s just some shit that I noticed
Now this is how I do this, when checking a grip
All these instances I’ll speak of are spooky, please don’t trip
109LAW2 is how my car’s personalized license plate used to look
Pockets empty, no job in LA, it was time to book
I traveled overseas, arriving at a new country
Come to find out, 1-0-9 was the country’s national holiday
1-0-9 on my mind, I was fine, I thought
Until I started waking up at 1:09 on the dot
multiple times, then it hit me
10 and 9 keep coming to visit me
even when I bought a train ticket my seat would be in row 10 or 9 respectively
1009 was even my group number, which I thought was assigned randomly
And I awoke sometimes at 10:09
Now try this one on for size
A strange woman asked me the time
I looked and replied: 10:09
Cut to the day I was at Addis Ababa University
Learning Ethiopian history,
Went to the bathroom,
on the second floor
Yup, you guessed it,
109 on the door,
While in Peru, Cousin Anwar said meditate, and listen, Inca spirits will be with you
I reached the summit of Machu Picchu at 10:09, I guess what Cousin Anwar was true
And while in Havana, Cuba one night
reading About Revolutionary Che’s life, Imagine the sight
The sentence informed me that Che was shot on the 8th
of October, but he died on the 9th
After these 1-0-9 coincidences
I told my friend, Rochelle, but she said I am imagining things
So when I tried to forget them
I was surprised to keep seeing them again
De-planed in Saudi Arabia, I whistled for a cab and when it came near
The license plate started with 1-0-9 and it had me feeling weird
If anything I can say this cab was rare but I thought
Man, forget it, yo holmes, I’m not scared
Irrespective of what Rochelle said, I think these coincidences are signs
Why else did Nipsey’s death coincide
with the same week as was celebrated Mohammad’s rise (PBUH)
In other words, that same week Nipsey perished
Muslims around the globe were celebrating the prophet’s ascension to Heaven
Here I’ll tell you what happened to me, that same week that we lost Nipsey
Around the time Nipsey died, every seven days I was greeted by a new revelation,
Check these details and you’ll understand what I’m saying
Sunday, March 17th, I posted a picture of a goat to IG
because I felt as if that mofo disrespected me
by stepping on my new clean Nike sneaks
I was buggin’ out like Buggin’ Out from Do The Right Thing
Remember the goat, and my new Nike sneeks
These details will hold greater significance shortly
Sunday, March 24th, I posted another photo to IG
While laying in a tent, eating Oreo cookies,
also I was reading a book and wearing one sock
Remember the sock, but especially the date on which I posted this photo to IG
This detail will hold greater significance shortly
Sunday, March 31st, it all became clear
That day we received news we didn’t want to hear
I awoke and looked at my feed on IG only to realize
That a friend of mine
Who rarely posts photos had posted a photo of Ermias to my surprise
I read the caption and began to cry
That was how I learned that Ermias died
That morning I felt lost, distraught
On my short drive to work, a car cut me off
I read the license plate, What can this be?
A sense of peace washed over me.
The license plate read 10-90
Nipsey rapped Hit him “like an Omen seize the moment Hussle why wait”Sunday, April 7, an Omen appeared in the sky
There were chem-trails up there, I can’t explain why
For six months I lived in Oman’s former capital, Nizwa
And over those six months no planes flew overhead so this sight was irregular
Though it wasn’t the chem-trails that had me at a word loss
Rather t’was the sight of the smoke forming a CROSS
After Seeing the burning bush
Moses Led Israelites from Egypt to Canaan
This story is retold in the Book of Exodus
Which Christians are familiar with
This story has been retold many times, but not like this
Let me attempt to surmise
Stranger than fiction, Ermias means God Will Rise
Lend me your ear and I will explain why Nipsey was beneficent
For starters, like Moses, 109 has me feeling ancient
But you will think I’m crazy if I told you GET OUT of LA
Board planes and relocate to Shashemane, Kumasi, or Mekele
Now peep this, 7 is a spiritual number
It is said to mean the completion of a mission
Remember that I said every 7 days occurred a new revelatory incident
I believe these were no coincidences
Sunday March 17th, a goat stepped on my blue laced Nikes sneeks
Sunday, March 24th, remember that picture I took while eating cookies?
Sunday, March 31st, we lost Nipsey
And finally, Sunday, April 7th, seeing those chem-trails made me believe
That Nipsey’s mission was complete
After a leap of faith, I traveled Earth, Had I not done so, it might be a different conclusion
Were it not for my travels and this predilection of mine
Which entails me encountering 1-0-9
In the most common places, but at the most unlikely times
Now peep this, before you call me a numerologist
I didn’t know about numerology but until only recently
So to add to this mystery, 1-0-9 is an Angel Number according to a Google Search
Now that that is said, in this techy-world, everything I said has more worth
I guess it’s fair, my friend, Rochelle told me that I was tripping
and she didn’t want to hear about it, she said 10 and 9 are everywhere
And I believed her especially when I went to the Apple Store
where every device is set to the same score
But when the first friend you make
After the first international trip you take,
which you consider a leap of faith,
Shares the same birthday, you wonder anyway
And to recap, one week after posting that cookie pic to IG
I saw that video of Nipsey carried out on a gurney
He was still wearing a sock on his left foot
I felt shook, Nipsey was speaking to me, seven days before his body went limp
I was wearing one sock on my right foot eating Oreos in my tent
By
Larry Alfred Wiggs II
Click here to view the book, 109
Here is a YouTube video about the 109 back story: