LOS ANGELES, CA. (THECOUNT) — We are getting our first look at a letter penned by former President Barack Obama to the family of slain rapper Nipsey Hussle. The letter was read at the rapper’s recent memorial held at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The letter, addressed to the family and friends of the fallen rapper, says while Obama never actually met the rapper, he had “heard his music through my daughters.” The later learned about Hussle’s transformation and efforts to transform his South L.A. community.

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He praised Hussle’s vision, saying the rapper and community activist saw potential and hope in the Crenshaw neighborhood he grew up in and that lured him into a gang as a young man. Obama’s letter states that Hussle “saw a community that even through its flaws taught him to always keep going,” reports 12News.

The letter states Hussle’s legacy is worth celebrating and Obama says he hopes Hussle’s efforts inspire “more good work in Crenshaw and communities like it.”