Ava DuVernay Reflects on How Nipsey Hussle's Music Was Featured in 'When They See Us'

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DuVernay shares exactly how she ended up with Nipsey Hussle’s music for the end credits for When They See Us.

Ava DuVernay took to Twitter yesterday to share details on how Nipsey Hussle’s estate gave her access to use his music for When They See Us—the Netflix miniseries she directed.

Her tweet reads:

“For WHEN THEY SEE US, I wanted Nipsey’s voice to blanket the end credits and close the five-hour film. His estate gave me approval during a very hard time for them, with no monetary gain, just two weeks after his passing. A massive gift. Forever grateful.”

As the credits in the film play, Hussle’s voice can be heard from his song "Picture Me Rolling" from his Slauson Boy 2 mixtape. "Trying to stay focused, kinda like Moses/like somebody chose us, this weight on my shoulders/I feel these emotions, but still I keep going," he rapped.

In another tweet, DuVernay also shared a standard fee was paid to his estate to clarify if any fans wondered what she meant by "no monetary gain."

Earlier this year, Nipsey was fatally shot outside of his Marathon Clothing Store located in Los Angeles on March 31. He had previously accumulated success as an independent artist and also was an advocate for youth interested in the tech industry.

Alongside DuVernay sharing her special moment following Nipsey’s death, GQ rolled out a celebratory feature allowing those closest to the rapper to share intimate stories. Lauren London, his partner and mother of his son Kross, Hussle’s brother Samiel Asghedom and his father Dawit Asghedom candidly spoke on the late artist. London reflected on how the two met, while his brother Samiel went into detail about the early days of Nipsey’s music career.