KEY POINTS

  • Lil Wayne performed a special tribute for Kobe Bryant during the virtual 2020 BET Awards
  • The rapper sang "Kobe Bryant," a track he wrote and released in 2009 
  • The 2020 BET Awards ceremony was done virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic

Lil Wayne recently paid tribute to the late NBA legend Kobe Bryant during the 2020 BET Awards.

On Sunday night (June 28), the 37-year-old rapper performed a special number in honor of the former Los Angeles Lakers superstar during the annual BET Awards, which was held online this year. Wayne sang “Kobe Bryant”—a track which he had written and debuted in 2009—while videos that featured Bryant’s career and photos of his late daughter Gianna were shown in the background.

Bryant, 41, was killed in a January helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. His daughter Gianna "Gigi" Bryant, 13, was also among the eight other passengers who had died during the crash.

The former NBA legend is survived by his wife Vanessa, 37, and three of their daughters: Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, who recently turned 1 on June 20, as per People.

Wayne’s “Kobe Bryant” track gives a nod to the NBA star’s career through the years, and his video features footage of Bryant on the court.

The video started with a voiceover of Bryant saying, "I want to be the best, that's why I play the game.”

Wayne also paid special tribute to Bryant's daughter, Gigi, who was nicknamed "Mambacita" and was a talented basketball player like her dad before her death. "This is Black power status/Two fingers for the Mambacita/I'm screamin' Black Mamba matters,” he rapped.

The rapper also honored Bryant's wife and remaining daughters and mentioned the Black Lives Matter movement.

"My heart goes out to Vanessa and the whole Black Mamba family," Wayne added to the song. He then ended with, "Rest in power/Let's hope for peace/Black lives matter, facts."

By the end of the video tribute, Wayne walked off the stage and closed the performance with Bryant saying “Mamba out”—words that the NBA legend said when he bid Lakers fans farewell after his last game in 2016.

This year's BET Awards, which honors talent in television, film, sports and music, took place virtually amid the global COVID-19 pandemic and the national unrest in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests calling for justice for police brutality victims and the end of racial discrimination.

Hosted by “Insecure” star Amanda Seales, the 2020 BET ceremony aired Sunday on CBS and BET.

Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne on Sept. 18, 2015 performing in Las Vegas. Reuters
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