Jay-Z reveals Kobe Bryant's last words to him before NBA star's death
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jay-Z is opening up about the final conversation he had with Kobe Bryant just weeks before the NBA star's untimely death.
"'You've gotta see Gianna play basketball,'" Jay-Z said Bryant told him as they celebrated New Year's at the hip hop mogul's home.
Jay-Z discussed his relationship with the Los Angeles Lakers legend during a Q&A session at New York City's Columbia University on Tuesday. Bryant was 41 years old when he died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26 along with this 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven other victims.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A member of the audience asked Jay-Z about Bryant's passing in a video shared on Twitter by his agency, Roc Nation Sports.
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"So Kobe was a guy that looked up to me and we've hung out multiple times," Jay-Z responded. "He was last in my house on New Year's and he was just in the greatest space I've seen him in and one of the last things he said to me was, 'You've gotta see Gianna play basketball,'" Jay-Z said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The rapper continued: "That was one of the most hurtful things because he was so proud. The look on his face...I looked at him and said, 'Oh she's going to be the best female basketball player in the world.' He was just so proud of what he said. That was a tough one. My wife and I are taking that really tough."
The 50-year-old called Bryant a "great human being."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jay-Z's sports agency has been in the spotlight this week as Roc Nation Sports produced the Super Bowl LIV halftime show. The rapper and father of three attended the game on Sunday with wife Beyonce, but the two quickly raised eyebrows when they remained seated during Demi Lovato's performance of the National Anthem.
At the same Q&A, Jay-Z explained he did not intentionally mean to sit down. Instead, he explained he was busy observing the show.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We get there and we immediately jump into artist mode," he explained. "...So now I'm just really looking at the show. Did the mics start? Was it too low to start?"
The rapper went on to say he wanted to make sure that fans at home could "really feel the music," so it was important to him that every aspect of the song was perfect.