Watch: Kendrick Lamar honors Kobe Bryant rocking ‘Grinch’ Kobe 6s for Super Bowl LVIII kickoff performance

Kendrick Lamar, along with his cousin Baby Keem, took the stage on Thursday for the Super Bowl LVIII kickoff performance. The performance was held at a private undisclosed location for a Visa Cash App event. Kendrick was seen sporting an informal suit attire along with the 'Grinch' Kobe 6s on stage, paying homage to the late LA Lakers legend, Kobe Bryant.

The Nike Kobe 6 'Grinch" features a scaly textured upper and venom-green hue - a reference to the serpentine inspiration of Bryant's Black Mamba persona. It was released on Christmas Eve of 2020, which earned it the Grinch nickname along with the accent pops of red on the tongue, heel and sole.

Over the years, Lamar has paid tribute to Bryant on many occasions. After meeting the five-time NBA champion before his death, Lamar keeps the Hall of Famer's memory close to his heart.

In 2020, Kendrick Lamar narrated an ad released by Nike titled - 'Better: Mamba Forever.' The ad was released on August 23, which would have marked Kobe Bryant's 42nd birthday. In the ad, which features several Bryant highlights from his career, Lamar delivered the message:

"Kobe taught us to be better"

Nike described the ad:

“The film celebrates the universal relevance of progress and highlights Kobe’s prolific desire for improvement, the Mamba Mentality is about getting better, every day, in everything we do.”

In 2022, Kendrick Lamar used deep fake to transform himself into several iconic black entertainers and athletes, including Kobe Bryant, for a music video. The video even caught the attention of LeBron James, who took to Twitter to share his reaction.

Watch the video here at 3:57 timestamp:

Kendrick Lamar and Kobe Bryant had mutual respect

Kobe Bryant also paralleled the respect and admiration for Kendrick Lamar. In an interview featuring Bryant and Lamar at ComplexCon 2017, Kobe was asked if there was someone Lamar reminded him of on the court. To that, he was quick to answer:

“Yeah it was me. It’s the same hunger. When you step out there on the court, you’re taking heads off. I don’t want to hear it, I don’t want to hear Michael is the best player in the world. I don’t want to hear they call him black Jesus, I don’t wanna hear that. You have to show me.”

Watch the interaction here at 9:52 timestamp :

In this sit-down at Complexcon 2017, Lamar and Bryant discussed what makes them great and how they grew in their respective fields.