Nipsey Hussle memorial service to be held at Staples Center on Thursday

A memorial service for rapper Nipsey Hussle is scheduled to be held on Thursday at the 21,000-capacity Staples Center, the hometown of the rapper at Los Angeles, a source confirmed to Variety.

According to the news which was initially released by TMZ, Hussle's family met Staples Centre management this week and ushers have been asked to reserve the day while the tickets for the memorial will be sold online. Also, the venue of the memorial needs to be mobilized quickly for the service, as the final game of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team will be taking place at the venue the day before.

Hussle was a dedicated Los Angeles Lakers fan and was a frequent courtside presence at their games. Lakers player LeBron James honoured Hussle before Thursday's game by wearing a shirt imprinted with an illustration of his face.

The 33-year-old Hussle (legal name: Ermias Asghedom) was reportedly murdered on Sunday in front of Marathon Clothing, one of several businesses he owned in his native South Los Angeles. Police on Tuesday arrested Eric Holder and on Thursday filed charges of murder and attempted murder against him, and currently, he is being held on $5 million bail. He appeared in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on Thursday afternoon, where he was represented by attorney Chris Darden. Darden entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

LAPD chief Michel Moore said on Tuesday that Holder and Hussle got into a dispute at the clothing store. Holder left and came back with a gun, shooting Hussle and two other men several times before fleeing in a white Chevy Cruze. While both men allegedly had gang affiliations, the motive for the shooting does not appear to be gang-related. The two other men were also injured in the shooting outside the store, which is located at Crenshaw Boulevard and Slauson Avenue.

Holder, 29, also faces a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He might face the possibility of life in prison if convicted.