Posts Tagged ‘Kobe Bryant’

Velvet ropes hung gingerly from metal stanchions throughout Nokia Plaza. Satellite lots bordering Staples Center transformed into gifting suites and production base camps.   And if you followed stars’ Tweets, then you know that many of them descended upon Los Angeles for the summer’s biggest awards show.

My regrets, movie and tv junkies –  this awards shindig was of course, for the athletes. With Seth Meyers hosting, the 2011 ESPYs aired last night from the Nokia Theatre at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles.

There were many highlights from the night, especially the music scene — featuring funky soul man, Raphael Saadiq, as the leader of the house band …

… and N’Sync-er turned actor, Justin Timberlake, as a presenter.

Because the worlds of music and sports are so intertwined, Positively Celebrity is celebrating this annual gathering of modern day Goliaths by saluting athletes’ major contributions to music!

Lakers megastar Kobe Bryant had humble beginnings as a rapper. Long before he donned the “24,” Bryant joined forces with R&B singer, Brian McKnight, on “Hold Me” back in 1998 (see Kobe’s rap at the 2:39 mark).

You’d have better luck winning the lottery twice than beating Carl Lewis in a foot race when he was in his prime.  Lewis left competitors in the dust during his track & field days, but his Star Spangled Banner performance at an NBA game in the early 90s left people plain confused.

Unfortunately, Carlos Arroyo’s stint with the Celtics has been uneventful, but at least his music career is seeing some success.  Last year, Arroyo released “Se Va Conmigo,” and the single made a big impression on reggaeton charts.  Check out the remix featuring Ivy Queen.

Without Michael Jordan, the movie, Space Jam, would have never existed. And without the movie, we would have never known the awesomeness that is the Space Jam soundtrack. So thank you, Michael Jordan, for making it possible to enjoy the music of Monica, Seal, and the Quad City DJs on one CD.

For more of the latest music news and reviews from Erica Renee Davis, check back often right here on Positively Celebrity.

You could call Spike Lee the basketball auteur. Not only a huge basketball fan, he’s filmed some of the most famous Nike commercials ever with Michael Jordan; shot a full length feature called “He Got Game,” in 1998 starring Celtics superstar Ray Allen; and is currently working on a documentary feature of Jordan’s last 2 NBA seasons.

His latest hoops project to hit the airwaves is a behind-the-scenes look into the NBA life of Lakers star, Kobe Bryant. The project, entitled “Kobe Doin’ Work,” is a documentary of Kobe’s game vs. The San Antonio Spurs on April 13, 2008. Spike used 30 cameras to captures Kobe’s every move in the game. The film was inspired by the 2006 documentary about soccer star, Zidane, entitled “Zidane: A 21^st Century Portrait.”

Bryant later recorded a commentary for the Lee film, describing his thought process behind every screen, shot, and pass. As it happened, Kobe laid down the commentary just hours after annihilating Spike’s beloved New York Knicks with a 61 point performance. The film airs at 8PM Eastern on ESPN, May 16.