Everything We Learned About Lauren London & Nipsey Hussle's Modern Day Love Story
Black History Month will come to an end soon, and boy, have we had some ups and downs. Although this month in black media has taken on us on a roller coaster of emotions, Lauren London and Nipsey Hussle just slid through the hood to give us a dose of Black love that we didn't know we needed in their latest shoot with GQ.
In the past, the power couple has kept their relationship on the lowest of keys, but their latest shoot, which was initially mistaken for an engagement photo session, has all eyes on them. The couple, accompanied by a valiant white horse, stood tall in Louboutins and Manolos on Slauson Avenue in their GQ feature, which has since gone viral. The photos were taken by Awol Erizku, who also shot Beyoncé's amazing maternity photos when she was pregnant with the twins, so their collaboration was guaranteed to be a bop.
Growing up in the streets of Los Angeles, Nipsey, a business powerhouse from Crenshaw, always felt the need to fight. But with Lauren London by his side, it's clear he realizes that he's already won. It was reported that the couple split in November 2017, but they reminded us that they're still going strong in building their modern day love story in their latest interview.
Nipsey and Lauren share a two-year-old son and have been together for more than three years, and despite rumors of engagement, the couple has been clear that they're moving forward in their relationship on their own terms. In case you're as curious as I am about how these two powerhouses make Black love look so sexy, check out the highlights from the feature below:
How Lauren London & Nipsey Hussle Met
What 21st-century love story doesn't start with a slide into the DMs? Nipsey and Lauren initially became acquainted thanks to the power of social media when the actress sought out a copy of Nipsey's rare Crenshaw mixtape as a season wrap gift for her cast mates on The Game. He explained:
"The marketing for the mixtape was that we only made a thousand units and sold them for a hundred dollars apiece. It was a scarcity model. Jay-Z bought a few copies, et cetera."
After having a homeboy act as her wingman, Lauren followed Nipsey on Instagram, who then made an attempt at shooting his shot and was successful. The rest was history.
How Lauren London & Nipsey Hussle Complement Each Other
In the interview, Lauren joked that she and Nipsey are just like any couple: perfectly imperfect.
"He didn't like the way I made the bed this morning, so he re-did it."
And he did so, politely, which is something that, due to his hard-knock beginnings, Nipsey wasn't used to. He explained:
"I just want to make sure you're happy. I appreciate your work."
He later explained later that kindness wasn't a trait that was valued in the streets and that he's always had to fight to be accepted and understood:
"I grew up in an environment where being polite was taken as a weakness. So I just fought everybody. You're not going to scare me into being somebody I don't want to be. So I'll just fight you."
Lauren clearly served as his kryptonite to this way of thinking.
What Lauren London Sacrificed To Live Out Her Modern Story
During the interview, Lauren revealed that after her starring role in ATL, it wasn't easy to book high-paying gigs. The actress shared that she even auditioned for the role of Faith Evans in Notorious.
"I auditioned to be Faith Evans in 'Notorious'. I talked to Faith, Puff, everybody. It just came down that the director didn't believe me as Faith."
Despite her not getting the role, an even bigger opportunity was on the hills. After being handpicked for a role in a major show, Lauren discovered that she was pregnant with Nipsey's child, forcing her to make a tough choice. Nipsey explained:
"Lauren was handpicked by John Singleton to do 'Snowfall'. She read, got the part, shot the pilot...did stunts...this was her dream role. And then she got pregnant with our son. That was a really hard decision for her to make."
The show, which she had already shot the pilot for and would later become a television hit, was the big break Lauren was looking for and she felt conflicted. The ATL star added:
"It was the toughest decision of my career by far."
Nipsey told GQ that he didn't pressure her and encouraged her to make a decision that was best for her at the time. It was at that point, Nipsey shared, that he learned a tremendous amount about Lauren's core values, and that "what she believes in, she really believes in."
Lauren told GQ that although the decision was a hard one to make, there really wasn't much deciding to be done. She knew what she had to do. In a vein reminiscent of Lauryn Hill's "Zion", she shared:
"Do I choose my soul or myself? I went with my soul."
Check out the full article on GQ.com.com!
Featured image by Shutterstock.com
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Taylor "Pretty" Honore is a spiritually centered and equally provocative rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana with a love for people and storytelling. You can probably find me planting herbs in your local community garden, blasting "Back That Thang Up" from my mini speaker. Let's get to know each other: @prettyhonore.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Another season of Love Is Blind has come to a close, and almost two months later we’re still unpacking the drama that is Clay and AD. The finale, reunion, and post-interviews with Clay and AD after season six of Love Is Blind left millions of people wondering - why couldn’t AD see the signs? Clay told her he had a fear of marriage, his parents experienced infidelity, and he seemed to have many doubts about saying, "I do."
After changing his mind at the altar and hearing AD question why she feels like she’s never enough, I was finished watching. I didn’t need to hear anything else because, at that moment, I realized this wasn’t about Clay; this was about AD feeling inadequate before she ever met Clay.
If I’m honest, I don’t watch much dating television. TikTok keeps me updated with the clips that I need to see in order to be kept in the loop, but it’s difficult for me to watch an entire season of dating TV because seeing Black women settle for less and questioning their beauty is a trigger for me. In many ways, there were points in my life where I was AD, settling and ignoring red flags because I wanted to be loved.
Now, on the other side, it doesn’t feel good to see Black women lower their standards on national television. There have been many hot takes on this couple and who was in the wrong. Did Clay play in AD’s face or did she not listen to the truth of what he told her from day one? Was his reason for joining the show to promote his business and not to find the one?
We’ll never know the truth, but what we can do is learn tactics to better our self-worth. Founder and CEO of The Self Love Organization Denise Francis shared her expertise with xoNecole on what tangible steps to take to improve feelings of worthiness. “Self-love blooms in a garden where self-worth is planted, nourished, and whole. However, when your self-worth is challenged, displaced, or broken, it could be difficult to rebuild," Denise explains.
How To Rebuild Self-Worth
During her self-love coaching sessions, Denise likes to walk her clients through the cornerstones of rebuilding self-worth: grace and self-compassion. To her, self-worth is never lost, it's only displaced, so practicing self-compassion and giving yourself grace is a must. "We tend to place our self-worth in entities and people of ourselves such as relationship status, physical appearance, material possessions, social media followings, what others think of us, and more. Self-worth is not something to be measured by anyone or anything outside of ourselves because we all innately hold value and worth.
"Self-worth is not something to be measured by anyone or anything outside of ourselves because we all innately hold value and worth."
"When we place our value into people or things, we tend to feel that we are not enough, worth it, special, or important when relationship status, job titles, friendships, and physical appearances are lost or changed. We then tend to feel lost within ourselves because we’ve placed our value outside of ourselves. Using grace and compassion, you can rebuild your self-worth by returning home to who you are at your core," she concludes.
How To Return Home To Yourself
Denise advises taking a step back and using self-reflection through journaling by answering the following journaling prompts:
First, ask yourself, "What do you tend to attach your self-worth to and why?"
Is it your relationships, your job title, your finances, your appearance, etc.? Why do you think you place so much emphasis on external status? How does it make you feel when you are defining yourself through these entities and/or people outside of yourself?
Then, ask yourself, "Without these things, who am I?"
Once you have your answers, show yourself kindness, remove the shame, and, as Denise says, "Redefine yourself by detaching your value from the things and people you have no control over and no longer serve you. Challenge yourself to define yourself outside of titles and societal values."
"By returning home to your core, you find value in who you are as a person. You begin to find value in the way you love instead of your relationship status, your compassion instead of your popularity, your drive instead of your income/job title, and your heart instead of your physical appearance," she adds.
"By returning home to your core, you find value in who you are as a person."
"Be intentional with healing your self-worth by leaning into the people and things that nourish your core values. Surround yourself with the people who love and cherish you, they will always remind you just how valuable you truly are."
It all goes back to self-compassion and grace. As Denise explains, leading with those two things as you heal and rebuild your self-worth allows you to reduce negative self-talk that might come up for you. "This weakens thoughts like, 'I am not enough... why am I never enough?'" she shares, "And 'I don't deserve this while strengthening thoughts like 'I deserve better,' 'I am enough,' and 'I am worth it.'"
Denise continues, "Once you return home and remember the irreplaceable person you are, you can rebuild your self-worth by placing it back where it belongs. It belongs to you."
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Featured image by LaylaBird/Getty Images