Done in honor. The Game (real name Jayceon Terrell Taylor), 40, debuted a face tattoo dedicated to Kobe Bryant on Instagram on Wednesday, February 12. The “How We Do” rapper posted two different snaps, one of him getting it done while sitting in the parlor chair and another of the finished product. He got the number 8 tattooed on the left side of his forehead which was the same number printed on Kobe’s Los Angeles Lakers jersey for many years. “F O R E V E R,” he captioned the post which was met with a lot of positivity from his followers. “This type of love is what will keep his spirit alive,” one wrote in the comments section while another chimed and simply said that he looked “dope.”
Kobe isn’t the first celebrity that The Game has gotten a tribute tattoo for. He did the same for fellow rapper Nipsey Hussle after he was gunned down in Los Angeles on March 31, 2019. He posted an Instagram video of him getting a tattoo of Nipsey’s face sprawled across his chest. Nipsey wound up winning two posthumous Grammys at the 2020 ceremony in January for Best Rap Performance (“Racks in the Middle”) and Best Rap/Sung Performance (“Higher” with DJ Khaled and John Legend).
The variety of tributes and dedication for Kobe have poured in ever since he, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others tragically died after their helicopter crashed in Calabasas, California on Sunday, January 26. LeBron James, 35, Kobe’s longtime teammate and pal, also got a tattoo in honor of him in the days since his passing. The ink is on his left thigh and appears to be a Black mamba, the fast-moving snake that became Kobe’s nickname.
Others who have penned sweet words for the sports superstar include big names like Nicki Minaj, 37. “May God grant your wife & family peace, strength and understanding,” she wrote on Saturday, February 1, next to a photo of a Mamba and Lakers jersey that had roses piled up beneath them. “You were a star among stars. An icon among icons. The best even in the midst of the best. You supported artists, athletes, children… You made us proud. You shined. You did it. You win. You can rest now, King.”