Do You Remember When Kobe Bryant Tried Being a Rapper? We Remember! [VIDEO]

My younger cousin, who’s 22-years-old, made me look like an ol’ fart on the morning of April 18, 2016, when he was shocked to find out that “ The Black Mamba" tried taking his skill to hip-hop. Either I’m that old, or he’s been living under a rock his entire life.

Yes, Kobe Bryant tried his hand at rapping. I’m happy he stuck to what he did best, or there would be no celebration of his spectacular twenty years in the NBA.

In 1996, one of the greatest players to ever touch the hardwood entered the NBA draft, and fresh out of high school. Two years later the young basketball player from Philly’s Lower Merion High School got the bright idea to become a rapper, and no one took him serious — well let me say that my friends and I didn’t take him serious.

Most notably, Kobe was featured on Brian McKnights 1998 track “Hold Me,” from his third studio album Anytime.  Not one of the most notable songs from that album, but still notable enough to remember that Bryant was featured, and that he sounded like a mix between Will Smith and Silk the Shocker when he rapped, yikes.

I’m not saying that Kobe Bryant was a bad rapper, what I’m saying is that in 1998, hip-hop fans weren’t buying into him being an MC. We were more concerned with watching him ball out on the court. Though we try to forget, or act like we forgot, Shaq is the most successful basketball player turned rapper, ever, and there were also moments where we didn’t want to take him serious, but I digress. Shaq went multi-platinum, enough said. Kobe also had a song that featured Tyra Banks on the hook., and  I promise I’m not making any of this up, the proof sits below.

This is not a stain on Bryant’s past, because let’s face it, most of us have wanted to become a musician, rapper, or singer at some point in our life.  Fast forward, twenty years later we have several of the most incoherent rappers charting the Billboard Top 100, and we were honestly hating on Kobe. Life’s a bitch, isn’t it? Could he make it as a rapper now? Unless he’s willing to sip lean and over use auto-tune, not a chance.