The late, great Kobe Bryant‘s last NBA game was truly one of its kind. On April 13, 2016, Bryant closed out the two-decade-long chapter with a 60-point game against the Utah Jazz. While fans witnessed a true genius one last time, rapper ScHoolboy Q lived several dreams in that one night. During a recent appearance on the ‘Podcast P with Paul George‘, Q recalled meeting his music idols Jay-Z and Kanye West.
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The ‘Man of the Year’ rapper said that, before that game, he never met Jay-Z and Kanye, but it was definitely on his bucket list. What surprised him the most about Jay is that when he saw him and Kendrick Lamar together, Jay-Z asked them for a picture.
Q also said that, around the same time, he had sent Kanye his ‘THat Part’ song and wanted the Chicago rapper to lay down a verse for him. All of this happening at the same time and on the day when Kobe laced up for the Lakers one last time, Q said he was a bit overwhelmed.
In an almost zoned-out state, he wasn’t even paying attention to the game, and it was only after Kendrick’s reminder that Kobe just passed 40 points that Q started watching the game. He said, “That’s my favorite player man. That’s my favorite player of all time, Kobe. But I was more like so into the Kanye, Jay-Z sh*t, like, what the fu*k just happened.” Q eventually managed to witness the last few minutes of the game and the moment when Kobe reached 60.
Kanye West name-dropped Kobe Bryant on THat Part
In April, Q and Kanye met for the first time and as he recalled, he had sent his song to Kanye for a verse. In June, of that year, they dropped the song, and it has over 207 million views on YouTube alone. It could have been the impact of witnessing Kobe during his last game that when Kanye wrote his verse, he dedicated a bar to the Black Mamba. He said, “Walkin’, livin’ legend, man, I feel like Kobe (Kobe).”
This wasn’t the first time that Kanye mentioned Kobe in his raps. In fact, the two were great friends and frequent collaborators and also shot the iconic Nike commercial together. Some of the other Kanye songs where Kobe was referenced are,
“I had dreams of the league, one day I play Kobe I walk up to Puff and he already know me,” on a song called ‘Ego’ with Beyonce. “They say G.O.O.D. Music like the new Miami Heat, sh*t. Comparin’ them to us, man they gotta add Kobe,” on ‘See Me Now’.
“Tryin’ to get that Kobe number, one over Jordan,” on ‘Swagga Like Us’. So many other rappers have also name-dropped Kobe on their tracks, like Lil Wayne, in a song named ‘Kobe Bryant’ in 2009, “Kobe doin’ work, 2-4 on my shirt. He the greatest on the court, and I’m the greatest on the verse. Going for the fourth ring like it was his first. Gotta get the bling.”
