Jay-Z opens up about his final conversation with Kobe Bryant

American rapper and songwriter Jay-Z revealed basketball player Kobe Bryant’s last words to him before his untimely death.

“‘You’ve gotta see Gianna play basketball,'” Jay-Z said Kobe Bryant told him as they celebrated New Year’s at the NBA star’s home.

On Tuesday, Jay-Z opened up about his relationship with the legend during a Q&A session at New York City’s Columbia University.

An audience member asked him about Bryant’s untimely death.

“So Kobe was a guy that looked up to me and we’ve hung out multiple times,” Jay-Z responded. “He was last in my house on New Year’s and he was just in the greatest space I’ve seen him in and one of the last things he said to me was, ‘You’ve gotta see Gianna play basketball,'” he said.

“Just a great human being and was in a great space in his life.” pic.twitter.com/QJ1PTqkPmq

— Roc Nation Sports (@RocNationSports) February 5, 2020

The rapper continued: “That was one of the most hurtful things because he was so proud. The look on his face…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 of what he said. That was a tough one. My wife and I are taking that really tough.”

Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash at the age of 41 in January. His 13-year-old daughter Gianna was among the nine killed when the aircraft came down in Calabasas due to foggy weather.

His death sparked an outpour of grief from fans and celebrities around the world.