JAY-Z kicked off his Lecture Series at Columbia University on Tuesday and shared that he developed a close bond with Kobe Bryant throughout the years.
The last time they linked up was for Beyonce’s New Year party. The father of three recalls that his last conversation with the NBA legend was about their daughters.
Bryant was gushing about his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant, carrying on his basketball legacy. But the most heartbreaking thing about that conversation is that Gigi was one of the nine victims in the tragic helicopter crash.
“He was just in the greatest space that I’ve seen him in,” Hov said. “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.”
“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.”
The mogul felt the loss of his friend and concluded, “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.”
Beyonce shared a tribute for Kobe and Gigi on Instagram. “I will continue to diligently pray for your Queens,” Beyonce wrote, referencing Kobe’s wife Vanessa Bryant and their remaining three children Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months. “You are deeply missed beloved Kobe.”
