BET Awards 2019: Lauren London Emotionally Accepts Lifetime Achievement Award for Nipsey Hussle

Two months after his death, Nipsey Hussle‘s girlfriend, Lauren London, accepted the Humanitarian Award at the 2019 BET Awards on behalf of the late rapper.

London took the stage at the ceremony alongside the late rapper’s grandmother, parents, and son and daughter, Kross and Emani, to accept the award presented by T.I., who remembered Hussle as “a leader well beyond his years.”

“I just want to thank you guys for all of the love and support and the marathon continues again,” she said when accepting the award.

On June 13, BET had announced that the late rapper would posthumously receive the Humanitarian Award for his work to better his community in South Los Angeles.

“As a prolific artist and leader, Nipsey Hussle was zealous about driving change for the betterment of his community, empowering and employing those in need and being an influential and highly respected leader,” Connie Orlando, Executive Vice-President, Head of Programming at BET, said in a statement. “His passing was a tremendous loss to the entertainment industry and to the culture. We will continue to remember his advocacy and be inspired by the groundwork he set forth and his dire commitment to social change.”

“We are forever grateful, humbled and honored to have experienced his presence and we are invested in doing our part to ensure that the marathon will indeed continue. It is an immense honor for us to recognize him with this year’s Humanitarian Award,” the statement concluded.

Hussle, whose real name was Ermias Asghedom, was a rapper and community leader who worked to revitalize his hometown and help rid it of gang violence. On Sunday, March 31, he was shot and killed outside his Marathon Clothing store in the Hyde Park neighborhood in Los Angeles. He was just 33.

Following his death, fans came together to mourn the late rapper during a memorial service held at Los Angeles’ Staple Center, during which London gave a moving eulogy to her late boyfriend.

“His soul was majestic. He was the strongest man that I ever knew. A gentle father, a patient leader, a divine light. He was brilliant,” she said in part. “He researched everything, completely self-taught, constantly seeking knowledge.”

Hussle’s alleged shooter, Eric Holder Jr., was indicted by a grand jury in May. If convicted, Holden faces a possible maximum sentence of life in state prison.