LOS ANGELES — Metro will temporarily rename Hyde Park Station to “Nipsey Hussle Station” from Aug. 15 through Aug. 31 and release 12,000 limited-edition TAP cards featuring the late rapper, marking what would have been his 40th birthday.
The station renaming honors Nipsey’s legacy at the intersection of Slauson Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard — the heart of his community impact and entrepreneurial work.
The commemorative cards showcase two distinct designs: “Crenshaw & Slauson” features a black-and-white portrait of Nipsey on the streets of Crenshaw captured by renowned hip-hop photographer Jonathan Mannion, while “Watts” displays a color-stylized image of the artist on a Metro bus photographed by Anthony Pham.
“The Metro x Culture series celebrates the ‘Real Ones’ of Los Angeles — leaders, artists and visionaries who have shaped the city’s culture, especially those whose lives have intersected with Metro’s transit system,” Metro said in announcing the campaign.
The cards will be available starting Aug. 15 at six Metro ticket vending machines: Hyde Park Station on the K Line, Crenshaw Station on the C Line, Slauson Station on the J Line, Compton Station on the A Line, Hollywood/Vine Station on the B Line and Expo/Crenshaw Station on the E Line.
All six Metro customer service centers will also carry the cards, with additional quantities available at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw and Rosa Parks locations.
New participants in Metro’s Low-Income Fare is Easy program signing up in South L.A. will receive the commemorative cards along with nine months of free transit access across multiple agencies — a value exceeding $600.
The cards will not come pre-loaded with fare and riders must add money to use them for transit. They will remain available until the limited supply sells out.
Nipsey, born Ermias Joseph Asghedom in South Los Angeles in 1985, became a Grammy-nominated rapper and community leader whose influence extended far beyond music. He invested heavily in his Crenshaw neighborhood, founding the Marathon Clothing store and the tech workspace Vector 90 while supporting education and youth programs.
The rapper was killed in 2019 outside his store at Crenshaw and Slauson, but his legacy continues through landmarks including the renamed Nipsey Hussle Square and the Nipsey Hussle K-Line station. His killer, Eric Holder Jr., was sentenced in 2023 to 60 years to life in prison.
Additional details about the TAP card release are available at metro.net/nipsey.
