Before Kobe Bryant met his wife Vanessa, he had a bit of a crush on Brandy, who eventually went on to have a lucrative career in the entertainment industry. As a student at Lower Merion Township High School in Philadelphia, Kobe actually got to take Brandy to prom and even went to some Hollywood events with her once he ended up in the NBA, playing for the Los Angeles Lakers.

As many of you know, Kobe sadly passed away in a helicopter crash in January of this year and the entire incident left a huge impact on Brandy. Following the tragic accident, Brandy posted about Kobe and Gianna on her IG page. In a recent interview, Brandy spoke a little bit more at depth about how she felt following the news that Kobe had passed.

“It’s unbelievable. I can’t believe it, and honestly I would have to say that shook my faith,” Brandy said. “That moment really shook my faith. It just stopped me dead in my tracks. I just cannot understand it. I don’t understand it. I’ll never understand it till this day.” 

Kobe had a huge impact on a lot of people and his death is certainly going to sting for a very long time.

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The loss of Kobe Bryant doesn’t get any easier as the days turn into weeks since his fatal helicopter accident. Rapper Meek Mill has been one of the many celebrities showing their respects to his legacy social media, and his latest tribute shows off a rare moment Meek had with the late sports icon many years ago.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Following up from his heartfelt and impressive tribute performance to both Kobe and Nipsey Hussle during the 2020 GRAMMYs (seen above), Meek gave us the ultimate throwback pic from his days of rocking cornrows. “All Kobe said was “you from philly? Make sure you get em” [sic],” the Championships emcee wrote as the caption to his post, further explaining that these few words were enough to inspire him “for a lifetime” and pushed him into becoming the DreamChaser head honcho that he’s become today. Meek received much praise for the pic, with fellow rappers YG and Pop Smoke both commenting the “100” emoji and pro skater Theotis Beasley deeming it as “Legendary.” We couldn’t agree more.

Check out Meek Mill’s throwback flick with Kobe Bryant below, and be sure to keep the Black Mamba and his loved ones in your prayers: 

Aside from maybe his parents and surviving children, nobody is taking the loss of Kobe Bryant as difficult as his now-widowed wife, Vanessa Bryant. In a similar fashion to the many who’ve been keeping her in their prayers over the past week, OG rap vet Snoop Dogg decided to do so by reminding the world of the first time they actually met.

For most couples, that moment of first meeting is usually not documented. However, the love story of Kobe and Vanessa was actually caught on tape during unearthed behind the scenes footage from his short stint in the music industry back in 1999. You see, Kobe at one point tried to follow in the steps of Shaq by starting a rap career, highlighted by his Tyra Banks-assisted single “K.O.B.E.” There was a music video shot for the single, and as Kobe himself described in his 2015 autobiographical Showtime documentary Muse, they were inseparable ever since that chance interaction on the set. For that reason alone it makes Snoop’s IG post (seen above) all the more heartbreaking. “Love at 1st sight here’s to. Kobe n. Vanessa,” was the caption that followed Tha Doggfather emcee’s post, and we couldn’t agree more. May their love live on eternally.

Watch the clip from the Kobe Bryant’s Muse doc below that details the moment when the Black Mamba met his snake charmer: 

It’s been just over a week since the tragic helicopter crash that took the lives of basketball icon Kobe Bryant, his beautiful 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others as they headed to what would’ve been Gigi and her teammate’s basketball practice at the Mamba Academy in Thousand Oaks, California. It’s still hard to grasp for many people across the world, but particularly for those in the public eye during the biggest annual sports event of year this past weekend, Super Bowl LIV. Such was the case for rappers Meek Mill, Yo Gotti and Jay Z.

Hanging out heavy at  Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Super Bowl Party at Loews Miami Beach Hotel this past Saturday (February 1), all three Roc Nation emcees wore the #24 jersey for the late Lakers legend in a similar fashion to many who attended the party as well. Although Kobe’s lane was basketball, the sports world in general have been paying tribute to his loss as a whole and it makes perfect sense that his presence would be felt all throughout the weekend of SBLIV. “2020 we didn’t just lose Kobe we lost a real #superhero,” Meek wrote in the caption to assist the pic he took with Hov and Gotti (seen above), and it’s a sentiment that many have been feeling and will be for a long time coming.

R.I.P Kobe…we’ll always miss you.

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

It wasn’t easy for anyone to accept the death of Kobe Bryant this past Sunday (Jan 26), especially those who had to attend the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards just a few hours after news broke. It proved to be particularly hard for soul siren Alicia Keys, who was tasked with opening the show as the host for the night. However, the Songs In A Minor singer pulled it off effortlessly and was even able to give the Black Mamba a fitting tribute with help from equally soulful R&B legends Boyz II Men. We now have a better idea of how it all came together with such short time to prepare.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

As group member Nathan Morris recently told GQ, the guys actually found out just one hour before showtime. They were originally there to just sing background alongside Charlie Wilson for GRAMMY-winning rapper Tyler, the Creator’s stage-rocking performance. However, following the shocking news of Kobe’s fatal helicopter crash, the guys immediately agreed to sing their 1991 hit “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” with Alicia joining as well after her manager contacted theirs to ask if they’d be down. “We were in the dressing room rehearsing the actual song we had come to the Grammys to perform,” Morris confirmed, adding a more extensive breakdown by stating, “The show wasn’t too far from starting, and we got the call asking if we wanted to do ‘It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.’ We always try to be ready vocally, but I mean, when you care about somebody in this manner, you can be vocally ready, but you may not be mentally ready. We sat around and tried to figure it out. Alicia wanted to sing it with us, so we went to her dressing room and created a little something in like 10 minutes.”

Even their attire was completely unplanned, as Nathan also told GQ that they guys wore their street clothes onstage because they didn’t have anything else to wear given such short notice. Alicia gave a similar recollection during her visit to The Ellen Show, telling the talk show host they were all “freaking out” due to having something completely different planned for the show opener. “We had to really figure out how could we properly honor him in his house on this night,” she said in reference to the Staples Center being the home of Kobe’s former LA Lakers team. With meditation music and a minute to think, Alicia tells Ellen that she wanted to do something special with Boyz II Men and that it was comparable to magic. We couldn’t agree more.

Watch Alicia Keys’ full breakdown of her tribute to Kobe Bryant alongside Boyz II Men during the 2020 GRAMMYs below, and continue to keep Black Mamba, his daughter Gianna and everyone who perished in that tragic accident in your prayers: 

The city of Los Angeles and the entire world is mourning the loss of a hero, Kobe Bryant, after the 41-year-old tragically died in a horrific helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. The basketball legend was on the way to his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, using his helicopter to bypass the busy Los Angeles traffic. Kobe was one of nine people aboard the helicopter who passed away, including his daughter Gianna. As part of the public grieving process, fans have been sending their love and strength to Vanessa Bryant, who has lost both a husband and a daughter. In her first public move since the terrible accident this weekend, Bryant has updated her profile picture on Instagram to a photo of her lost loves, Kobe and Gigi.

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

The Bryant family has still not released a statement on the passing of Kobe and Gianna but Vanessa took her first step back into real life, updating her social media profile with a heartbreaking picture of her late daughter and husband. The image shows Kobe, who was selected to the Western Conference All-Star team, hugging Gianna, both with tremendous smiles on their faces.

Among the thousands of tributes pouring in this week, one of the most poignant came from a news reporter who recalled a conversation she had with Kobe about being a father to several girls, to which he noted that he loves being a “Girl Dad.” Bryant was a family man, taking pride in the lives of his girls and always supporting his wife. We would like to send our most sincere condolences to the Bryant family for their losses.

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Everyone is feeling the unexpected tragic loss of Kobe Bryant, especially those who attended the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards last night (Jan 26) at Los Angeles’ Staples Center, otherwise known as the Black Mamba’s former stomping grounds as a loyal Lakers legend. For Meek Mill, who was tasked with paying tribute onstage to another fallen Cali legend, Nipsey Hussle, the feeling was almost too much to maintain. However, along with fellow hitmakers John Legend, Kirk Franklin, DJ Khaled and Roddy Ricch, he pulled through to perform one unforgettable tribute to both of them that won’t soon be forgotten.

Reflecting back on the moment Instagram (seen above), Meek shared a touching flick of all five men looking up at a monitor that broadcasted an image of Nip and Kobe side by side. The fact they were able to add in Bryant at the last minute was a miracle in itself, although it never will truly feel right knowing that we lost two of arguably the most influential people in today’s pop culture to unexplainable fates that still don’t seem real. We can only agree wholeheartedly in regards to Meek’s caption that reads, “NIPSEY X KOBE FOREVER! Even tho this will never look right to me.[sic]” Our sentiments exactly. 

Watch a fan-recorded clip of Meek’s tribute performance to Nipsey at the 2020 GRAMMYs below, and keep both of these men and their families in your prayers: