Blacc Sam described a childhood pattern so on the One54 Africa podcast that only became clear to him years later. During the limited weekends he and Nipsey Hussle spent with their father, Dawit Asghedom spent his entire paycheck on them. Once the brothers recognized what was happening, they stopped asking for things and started suggesting cheaper ways to spend time together, including watching movies at home.
The detail came up in the long-form episode that arrived earlier this week, which pairs Blacc Sam with his father to discuss Eritrean history, immigration, and the Marathon brand. Hosts Godfrey and Akbar kept the conversation loose. Blacc Sam used the opening to talk about how the family’s finances worked in practice. “As I got older, I started realizing, hold on, pop is spending the whole check on us and then he has to wait to get that check again to see us,” he said in a clip the podcast shared.
Dawit Asghedom left Eritrea as a young man during the country’s fight for independence and reached the United States in the 1970s. He and Angelique Smith had three children: Samiel, Ermias, and Samantha. The couple later separated. The brothers lived primarily with their mother, often at their grandmother’s house in Crenshaw. Time with their father came mainly on weekends or every other weekend.
Blacc Sam has described those years as tight in earlier interviews. He and Nipsey slept in the living room with their mother because the house had no separate room for them. They flipped quarters, shot free throws for dollars, and sold snacks at school. Their father kept them connected to Eritrean culture through community events, food, and language. In 2004 he took both sons on a three-month trip to Eritrea that both brothers later called a turning point.
The paycheck detail fits the structure of those weekend visits. Limited time meant whatever money Dawit had went toward the kids when he saw them. As adults, Blacc Sam and Nipsey recognized the pattern and adjusted so they were not draining what little remained. Watching movies at home let them spend time together without the cost of going out.
The exchange has circulated quickly since the episode aired. Accounts including My Mixtapez summarized it for a wider audience. It lines up with the broader picture Blacc Sam has offered over the years of quiet family sacrifice in a household that did not have much to spare. The same resourcefulness later showed up in the brothers’ street hustles, early clothing sales from the trunk of a car, and the decision to open Marathon Clothing on Crenshaw and Slauson.
Dawit Asghedom remains active in the local Eritrean community in Los Angeles. In the same interview he discussed the sacrifices that shaped his decision to leave home and the importance of keeping his children connected to their heritage. The episode also covers the family’s work continuing Nipsey’s vision through Marathon Clothing, Marathon Burger, and efforts to protect the brand and intellectual property for Nipsey’s children.
