Remembering Kobe Bryant’s interesting RAP career

Kobe Bryant was known for handing out buckets on a nightly basis against your favorite NBA team. But, what most people don’t know is that Kobe attempted to enter the hip-hop scene in the late 1990’s. Take a look at some of Bean’s tracks below.

1) “Hold Me”

Kobe’s first appearance on a track was on the record “Hold Me” with Brian McKnight. Bean rapped a verse towards the end of the song and showed off his rhymes. McKnight stated to ABC Audio that “if it wasn’t for the Lakers, Kobe might have launched a rap career instead.” CHECK IT OUT BELOW:

2) 3x Dope feat. SHAQ

After the passing of the legend, Laker phenomenon Shaquille O’Neal revealed a hidden gem that the world had never seen before. He surprised Instagram with a video of he and his former teammate rapping on “3x Dope” which he previously released on his Respect album in 1998.

They understood their dominance on the court and made sure that the world knew too through their rhymes.

“Even players with 20/20, they ain’t seein’ us.”

3) K.O.B.E

Bryant’s next track came about in 2000, where he released his song with Tyra Banks called “K.O.B.E.” Banks recalls meeting Kobe Bryant at the Teen Choice Awards and planning to get together to make the track. She says “a couple days later, I’m literally in the studio with him singing that song.” They ended up debuting it and performing it during the 2000 All-Star game. Interestingly, Bryant decided to rap his last verse in Italian, in which he grew up speaking.

Bryant was a natural performer and even featured some basketball references in his rhymes. FUN FACT, on the set of the music video is where Kobe Bryant would meet his soon to be wife, Vanessa Bryant.

“What I live for? Basketball, beats and broads, from Italy to the U.S., yes, it’s raw.”