Jay-Z Shares His Last Conversation With Kobe Bryant: That’s A Really Tough One

Jay Z, Kobe Bryant

Jay-Z Shares His Last Conversation With Kobe Bryant: That’s A Really Tough One

Jay-Z is the latest celebrity to remember Kobe Bryant. The 41-year-old rap mogul reflected about the NBA’s tragic death. During his recent lecture series at Columbia University, Jay Z explained that he had a friendship with Kobe Bryant and they last spent time together at his home for New Year’s. Kobe Bryant attended with his wife, Vanessa Bryant. Jay Z explained that during their conversation, Kobe Bryant was gushing over his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant.

“He was just in the greatest space that I’ve seen him in. And…one of the last things he said to me was, ‘You gotta see Gianna play basketball.’ And that was one of the most hurtful things because he was so proud.”

He added,

“The look on his face was like…I looked at him and said, ‘Oh, she’s going to be the best female basketball player in the world,'” he continued. “He was just so proud of what he said.”

Jay Z also said,

“So, that’s really a tough one and my wife and I took that—taking that—really tough. That’s all I’ll say on that. Just a great human being that was in a great space in his life.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Roc Nation (@rocnation) on Feb 5, 2020 at 2:09pm PST

As previously reported, on January 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gionna died in a helicopter crash. 8 other people were also tragically killed including the helicopter’s pilot, Ara Zobayan; Gianna’s Mamba Academy teammates Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester; their parents, John and Keri Altobelli, and Sarah Chester; and assistant coach Christina Mauser.

The group was traveling to a basketball game at Bryant’s Mamba Academy in Thousand Oaks.

The cause of the crash is still unknown, as the helicopter was not equipped with a black box. The Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, and the FBI have launched investigations into the crash.

The Lakers did a tribute to Kobe Bryant before playing against the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center on January 30th.

Vanessa Bryant released a statement about her husband and daughter’s tragic accident.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

My girls and I want to thank the millions of people who’ve shown support and love during this horrific time. Thank you for all the prayers. We definitely need them. We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri. We are also devastated for the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday, and we share in their grief intimately. There aren’t enough words to describe our pain right now. I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon. I’m not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it’s impossible to imagine life without them. But we wake up each day, trying to keep pushing because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, are shining on us to light the way. Our love for them is endless — and that’s to say, immeasurable. I just wish I could hug them, kiss them and bless them. Have them here with us, forever. Thank you for sharing your joy, your grief and your support with us. We ask that you grant us the respect and privacy we will need to navigate this new reality. To honor our Team Mamba family, the Mamba Sports Foundation has set up the MambaOnThree Fund to help support the other families affected by this tragedy. To donate, please go to MambaOnThree.org. To further Kobe and Gianna’s legacy in youth sports, please visit MambaSportsFoundation.org. Thank you so much for lifting us up in your prayers, and for loving Kobe, Gigi, Natalia, Bianka, Capri and me. #Mamba #Mambacita #GirlsDad #DaddysGirls #Family ??

A post shared by Vanessa Bryant ? (@vanessabryant) on Jan 29, 2020 at 4:59pm PST

No further details about the crash have been released.