Remembering Nipsey Hussle: Live updates - CNN

With seating limited to 21,000 inside the Staples Center, free tickets for the memorial were limited.

On Thursday morning crowds gathered outside of the Los Angeles venue to both be admitted and to pay tribute to the slain rapper.

"All hail, King Nip," said Latrell Parker, a barber and photographer from Fredericksburg, Virginia, who traveled across the country to honor the rapper.

Wearing a shirt bearing the rapper's image with the caption "The Marathon Continues" -- a nod to Nipsey's 2011 mixtape -- he told CNN that as an entrepreneur himself, he always admired how Nipsey taught others to pursue their goals.

"Take it as big as you want to make it, as far as you want to go," Parker said. "That's what Nipsey said. Being an entreprenur, you get to create your box and create how big you want your box to be, and I'm all for that. I'm all for getting out there creating your own opportunities, creating opportunities for your people. That's what Nipsey was about. It's just beautiful."

Rhenya Parker told CNN that the rapper's music had helped him in life.

"He really didn't care what color your were. He was just trying to help everybody be a better person," the Los Angeles resident told CNN.

"He's really took me though hard times that I was going through family-wise and just where I come from, and I think everyone can really relate to him in different aspects. Where he was from -- South Central, Crenshaw and Slauson -- I think people can really relate to him in many ways when it comes down to his music. He really touched a lot of people from all different cultures."

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