Kobe Bryant and Brian Shaw were once teammates on the LA Lakers, something that helped the latter learn many things about ‘The Black Mamba’. Among these, was Kobe’s choice of music. While he listened to many different genres, including classical music, it was hip-hop that he most often turned to.
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According to Shaw, Kobe was a massive fan of Jay-Z in the hip-hop sphere. So much so, that not only would the Lakers legend listen to the artist’s albums as soon as they came out, but he’d even memorize every single lyric of every single song. The following is what Shaw said in his 2016 Players’ Tribune article.
“Whenever a new JAY-Z album came out, it was a big deal. Guys would get it day one and be rapping their favorite songs. Maybe they knew the first few bars or the hook. Well, Kobe would be in the back of the bus, rapping every single line of every single song the day after the album came out. I’m talking every lyric. It was genuinely amazing. Nobody could figure out how it was possible.”
Four years ago today, Kobe was at Jay-Z’s house for New Year’s Eve. Kobe was a big fan of Jay’s music. Here’s a story shared to The Players’ Tribune in 2016 by one of Kobe’s former teammates, Brian Shaw:
“Whenever a new JAY-Z album came out, it was a big deal. Guys would get it… pic.twitter.com/dGduTjhA0D
— NBAinthezone™️ (@NBAinthezone) December 31, 2023
Jay-Z has a massive fan following across the globe. However, out of the millions of fans he does have, Kobe Bryant may just have been the biggest. In fact, he was such a big fan of Jay-Z, that he even put one of his albums over the great Biggie Small’s work as well, as per Basketball Network.
“I have to say Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt still remains my favorite album. American Gangster is a close second. Life After Death with Biggie Smalls. I’ll go with Reasonable Doubt.”
As an artist Jay-Z is undoubtedly up there with the greats. However, the fact that Bryant put him above even Tupac and Biggie as his favourite, speaks volumes about how much he admired the rapper. So he was likely very proud of how close the two men eventually became.
Jay-Z was very close to Kobe Bryant
Jay-Z was well aware that Kobe Bryant looked up to him for a long time. Eventually, the two forged a friendship together, with Jay-Z and Beyonce even attending several Lakers games to support the Black Mamba. By the time Kobe had retired from the NBA, they would even hang out together at each other’s houses. And it was during one such time that they had their final conversation together. The following is what Jay-Z had to say on the matter in 2020 while speaking at the University of Columbia.
“Kobe was a guy that looked up to me, and we’ve hung out multiple times… He was last at my house on New Year’s, and he was just in the greatest space that I’ve seen him in. One of the last things he said to me was, ‘You’ve got to see Gianna play basketball.’ And that was one of the most hurtful things, because he was so proud.”
“Just a great human being and was in a great space in his life.” pic.twitter.com/QJ1PTqkPmq
— Roc Nation Sports (@RocNationSports) February 5, 2020
Jay-Z then revealed that he said that Gianna would be the best female basketball player ever, something that made Bryant beam with pride. This is something that only worsens the nature of the tragedy that would come next.
However, to this day, Bryant may be gone, but the impact he had on the billions on the face of the Earth will never disappear. Rest in peace, Black Mamba.
