Chief Keef’s “Kobe” Saw A 13,000 Percent Increase In Genius Pageviews After Kobe Bryant’s Death

One of Kobe Bryant’s biggest fans is Chicago rapper Chief Keef, who paid tribute to him on 2012’s “Kobe.” After Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash on Sunday, fans remembered the former NBA player by revisiting the song on streaming services—and they flocked to Genius to brush up on its lyrics.

Prior to Bryant’s passing on January 26, the lyrics page for “Kobe” saw little interest. It garnered 21 daily pageviews on January 25 before skyrocketing to 2,010 on the day of his death, marking a nearly 9,500 percent increase.

On January 27, the Finally Rich track tallied another 2,218 daily pageviews, while also entering Spotify’s US Viral 50 chart at No. 24—or one of Bryant’s jersey numbers. Taken as a two-day window, “Kobe” saw a whopping 13,212 percent increase in Genius pageviews.

It rose to No. 13 on the US Viral 50 on January 28.

On the chorus of “Kobe,” Keef celebrates his success by referencing the career-long LA Laker:

I been ballin' so damn hard, I swear I think that I’m Kobe
Young bull of this rap shit, but I think that I’m Kobe
I swear I’m dunkin on these hoes, on these niggas, I’m free throwin'
These boys, they don’t like me ‘cause I think that I’m Kobe
Watch me hit the strip club, make it rain like I’m Kobe
Industry full of lames, I play the game like I’m Kobe
And since I think I’m Kobe, my bitch don’t like to know me
This is for them niggas that be thinking they Kobe

After hearing of Bryant’s death, Keef paid tribute to his favorite basketball player by quoting the song’s lyrics. “I think that I’m Kobe,” he wrote on Instagram.

In 2015, Keef also name-dropped Bryant on tracks like “Sosa Chamberlain” and “Runnin.”

Genius broke down how hip-hop remembers Kobe Bryant’s legacy:

Catch up on all the lyrics to Chief Keef’s “Kobe” on Genius now.