Jay-Z has revealed one of the last things Kobe Bryant said to him before he and his daughter died in a helicopter crash.
NBA legend Bryant died in the accident in January, aged 41, along with eight other people including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna.
On Tuesday (4 February), Jay-Z told an audience at Columbia University that the pair celebrated the most recent New Year’s together, and one of the last conversations they had was about Bryant’s pride in his young daughter.
“He was just in the greatest space that I’ve seen him in,” the rapper said. “One of the last things he said to me was, ‘You’ve gotta see Gianna play basketball.’ And that was one of the most hurtful things, because he was so proud.”
Jay-Z added: “And 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 was just so proud. So that’s really a tough one.”
After the crash, Beyoncé shared photos of Bryant and his daughter and paid tribute on Instagram.
In the same speech on Tuesday, Jay-Z denied speculation that his and Beyoncé’s decision not to stand during the Super Bowl national anthem was a protest.
