Kobe Bryant (August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player who played his entire 20-season career for the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a 5x champion, 18x All-Star, 2x Finals MVP, and was named the league MVP in 2008.

On top of a legendary basketball career, Bryant made a brief foray into hip-hop in the late 1990’s, but was ultimately dropped by Sony Records and his debut album was scrapped.

Nevertheless, Kobe has left traces in music, making it into countless song lyrics—especially rap lyrics. As one of the greatest of all time in hip-hop’s favorite sport, many artists like The Game, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake have paid homage to the Lakers baller by using his name for their metaphors and similes, or by simply shouting him out and acknowledging him as a basketball legend.

On January 26, 2020, Bryant fatally died in a helicopter crash at age 41.