“Nah Kendrick Lamar, honoring Kobe Bryant with a deepfake is weird”: NBA Twitter is flustered over Lamar’s tribute to Lakers legend in ‘The Heart Part 5’

Kendrick Lamar sends NBA Twitter into a frenzy after deep-faking Kobe Bryant onto himself on his newest song, ‘The Heart Part 5’. 

Kobe Bryant established himself as a Los Angeles legend after 20 years of being a Laker. He transcended the mere game of basketball and became an icon that millions of people looked up to, essentially becoming a larger figure than the game itself. Honoring him following his unfortunate passing is always welcomed. 

Another California legend in an industry that has become adjacent to the NBA world is Kendrick Lamar, one of the greatest rappers and musicians of this generation. Growing up in Compton, Lamar knows exactly what it’s like to be loved by a bevy of fans in Los Angeles. 

Also read: “LeBron James and Kobe Bryant’s MVPuppets ad has to be the greatest one of all-time”: When the two basketball icons starred in a unique puppet Nike advertisement

K-Dot’s much awaited 5th album comes out this Friday on May 13th, 2022 and to give fans a little taste of what he’s got in store, he released a single off that new album, Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, called ‘The Heart Part 5’. 

In this video, Kendrick would pay tribute to legends across various industries, including Kobe Bryant. 

NBA Twitter not sure if Kendrick’s tribute Kobe Bryant is cool or not. 

Kendrick Lamar took to his ‘The Heart Part 5’ music video to show love to everybody from Nipsey Hussle to Kanye West by using deepfakes created by a studio run by the creators of South Park, Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Among those deepfakes, was one of Kobe Bryant.

Also read: “I wanted to be the best basketball player to ever play”: When Kobe Bryant revealed the deal with himself at 13-years-old that helped him become one of the greatest ever

Fans are puzzled as to how they feel about this considering the fact that the Lakers legend is not here with us today. The same goes for Nipsey Hussle. Is this considered honoring them or disrespecting them. It’s unclear if Kendrick took permission from Bryant or Nipsey’s team and/ or family to use their likeness in this video. 

The reactions have been mixed but the positive ones have most definitely proven to be much more prominent than the negative reactions.

Nah that ain’t it..it’s cool to honor Kobe but this is weird

— Saul Wells Jr (@saul_delarge) May 9, 2022

that don’t sit right with my soul. not a good thing or trend

— vikes (@who595959) May 9, 2022

Damn… theres like everyone on here who are commenting and haven’t spent just 5 mins to watch the actual video. What has this world become through twitter.

— I_am_God (@Maigacribzz) May 9, 2022

Shit is mad weird, bad move. People might disagree, but the man is dead, and it’s disrespectful to try and make fake, alive versions of him. His family doesn’t wanna see some fake AI generation of their husband/father in a viral video

— mike (@biggmiik3) May 9, 2022