Kobe Bryant finished his career with five championships, two Olympic gold medals and 18 All-Star appearances, but did you know he also had a rap career in the late 90s?
While juggling his commitments to the Lakers, Bryant signed a deal with Sony Records in 1999 to release his own studio album.
For three weeks during the summer of 1998, Kobe lived in the mansion of hip-hop record executive Steve Stoute in New Jersey.
He was going clubbing with Stoute and dining at the finest restaurants in town.
But Bryant didn’t care about that. He wanted to rap battle with the best of them.
One night at the Hit Factory, he teamed with CHEIZAW member Broady Boy to battle Punch and Words, (via Grantland).
But, Broady ended up running out of lyrics and Kobe told him “Yo, you got to be in lyrical fitness, man,” referencing a well-known lyric by Canibus.
Before his debut he’d done multiple collabs, including remixing the Destiny’s Child’s Say My Name, Brian McKnight’s Hold Me in 1997, Shaquille O’Neal’s 1998 song 3X Dope and made a song with 50 Cent, Nas and Broady Boy for Bryant’s own song Thug Poet.
Kobe’s solo single named K.O.B.E. was debuted at the 2000 All-Star game where he performed it live with Tyra Banks.
“What I live for? Basketball, beats and broads,” Bryant says on the track. “From Italy to the US, yes, it’s raw.”
A spring 2000 release date was set for Visions – Bryant’s debut album, however the album was never released after the first single wasn’t exactly a hit.
By the end of 2000, Sony had dropped the Lakers star from its label and except for in a 2011 Taiwanese Sprite commercial, Kobe didn’t ever make a public return to music.
Three years ago, the album leaked online, but appears to have since been removed.
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