LA Lakers superstar and future Hall-of-Famer Kobe Bryant weighed in on the death of rapper Phife Dawg.
Known for his hit singles "Scenario," "Award Tour" and Buggin' Out" among others, Dawg finally lost his battle against Diabetes at the age of 45 last Tuesday, March 22. His music has strong influence to the 37-year old shooting guard as he reflected on Dawg's historic career.
"It's the passing of a legend," Bryant said in an interview via Hip Hop DX. "He made timeless music. It's very hard nowadays, with music being so in the moment, what they've been able to do is make music that stands the test of time. You can release a Tribe album and it's just as relevant and hot now as it was then. That speaks to the attention to detail, the genius of their craft."
He further added that Dawg's music is a huge inspiration to his career as he uses it as a way to take him back to a place where there is excitement. For Bryant, the game of basketball is a very sentimental sport and whenever he remembers his playing days in Lower Merion High School, Italy and his early years in the NBA, it takes him to the right place emotionally.
Also, Bryant told USA Today that his stint in Lower Merion made him who he is today. Due to the school not being known as a basketball powerhouse, this inspired Bryant to thrive and take his school to the top and he did, by winning the state title in his senior year.
Bryant will soon be calling it quits as he will be retiring by the end of the NBA season. The Lakers have nine games remaining in their schedule and they currently stand at 15 wins and 68 defeats.
Bryant, 37, is playing his 19th season all with the LA Lakers. He leads the team in scoring with 17.1 points per game while shooting 36% from the field. He will walk out of the league with five championship titles under his belt and third at the all-time scoring list with 33,457 as of this writing. Here's Bryant giving his thoughts on the passing of Dawg courtesy of Lakers Nation.