As he has willed himself to make every basket, win every game and fight through every injury that he can, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant has found another passion that does not involve a ball and a hoop. Amid Bryant’s plans to retire following this season in what will mark an accomplished 20-year NBA career, Bryant also revealed that he loves storytelling and partly explains why a camera crew has recorded nearly every second of the 2015-16 season for a possible documentary.
So it only seems appropriate that both Nike and Grammy Award winning jazz pianist Robert Glasper collaborated to make a soundtrack to commemorate Bryant’s career that includes five NBA titles, a third-place ranking on the NBA’s all-time scoring list and a second-place ranking on the Lakers’ all-time assists list. In the song titled “Be Couragous,” Glasper encapsulates Bryant’s eventful career using 4/4 and 6/8 times signatures, a beat popular both in jazz and hip hop. Nike said Gasper also used those beat signatures to commemorate the assassination of former civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968.
Nike has invited fans to leave both their own verse over Glasper’s instrumental and share their favorite memories of Bryant’s career in the comments section for a full highlight film to be released on Sound Cloud. Nike Basketball then plans to make a final film using user-selected moments of Bryant’s career and Glasper’s score for a release during NBA All-Star weekend from Feb. 12-14, 2016 in Toronto. Then, Bryant is expected to play in his 18th and last NBA All-Star game, a moment that will likely feature another moment to the soundtrack of his life.
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