Kendrick Lamar broke his vow of music silence to pay tribute to the late basketball legend Kobe Bryant on what would have been his 42nd birthday Sunday.
The Grammy-winning rapper gave a chill spoken word performance for NIKE's "Better | Mamba Forever" ad, as part of Nike's seven-day tribute to Kobe's legacy.
The video featured footage of early and recent footage of Kobe, friends, and fellow athletes such as Michael Jordan, the San Franciso 49ers, as well as images of his daughter, Gianna.
Kendrick described Kobe as someone who inspired the "better" version in all of us.
Tennis star Naomi Osaka, who appeared in the video, also paid tribute to Kobe, who watched her play at the U.S. Open last year.
"Happy birthday Mamba," she captioned a picture collage of Kobe on Instagram. "At the US Open right now and I practiced on Armstrong so I had a lot of memories of you in my box. That was fun, wish we could've done it again. Miss you."
Kobe and Gianna died in a helicopter accident in January, along with several other individuals.
By Rachel George
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