*LL Cool J has opened up about the time he advised Kobe Bryant against releasing a gangster rap album.
The 52-year-old rapper/actor recalled the moment in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight, noting a conversation they had about rap music.
LL said Kobe was looking to get into the music business and had played some music for him, but LL was “confused” because the hardcore lyrics were a complete opposite of Bryant’s image. So the hip-hop legend told him that gangster rap was “not what you need to be doing”.
“He played me this album, this gangster rap album and I was like, ‘Kobe,’ I said, ‘Come on dog. That’s not what you need to be doing [laughs].’
“He had a gangster rap album. He played me that album, we’re sitting in a parking lot. I was confused, I was sitting there like, ‘What are we doing? You got endorsements, what are you doing?’ “
He added: “It had to be the funniest moment of my life, listening to him do gangster rap.”
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Kobe ultimately released the single, ‘K.O.B.E.’ in 2000, and performed it at the 2000 NBA All-Star Game – but he didn’t end up dropping the album titled “Visions.”
LL joked the “world was laughing” at that particular performance.
“Yeah, we’re not gonna pretend like we wasn’t laughing,” he told ET. “Like, yeah, yeah yeah the world was laughing, that was not – but you know, he took his shot. He took his shot.”
It’s worth noting that Kobe’s quick foray into the music industry resulted in him meeting Vanessa Laine on the set of Tha Eastsidaz “G’d Up” music video in 1999. The two would go on to marry in 2001 and have four daughters together. Kobe and Vanessa remained married until his death in a helicopter crash late last month, that also claimed the life of their daughter Gianna.
In February 2018, rapper Kendrick Lamar explained the similarities that he saw between himself and the star Lakers player.
“I think from afar, we both have this will power of finding our how far we can max our potential in what we can do. I think once you have that curiosity, it’ll keep you challenged, it’ll keep you motivated and it’ll keep you elevated,” he explained.
“That’s what he’s done with his career, he maxed it out to this fullest on the court. Now, he’s off the court and he’s finding a whole new love for something and he’ll continue with that concept and that same idea. I think that’s what we share the most.”
Scroll up and hear more from LL Cool J about his relationship with Kobe via the video above.
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