Like so many others, Bad Bunny is reeling after the loss of Kobe Bryant, and he decided to channel his grief into a new song. The Latin singer put together a new track called “6 Rings” in just one day following Kobe’s death, and he released it on Jan. 28. The title, “6 Rings,” is in reference to the five NBA championship rings that Kobe won with the Los Angeles Lakers during his career, as well as the one wedding ring he got when he married his wife, Vanessa Bryant, in 2001. The lyrics to the song are in Spanish, but one part translates to,”You won six rings, five in the NBA and one in a marriage that gave you your daughters.”
Following that line, Bad Bunny also makes note of the fact that one of Kobe’s daughters, 13-year-old Gianna Bryant, died alongside him when their helicopter crashed in Calabasas on Jan. 26. “Thinking that one of them left with you, outta control,” he sings. “But nah, it’s so you don’t play ball alone in heaven.” Gianna was a middle school basketball star, who had hopes of playing in the WNBA one day. She and Kobe were on the way to one of her basketball games at the 41-year-old’s Mamba Academy when the helicopter crashed.
Before releasing “6 Rings,” Bad Bunny posted a tribute to Kobe on Instagram, and admitted he was his “favorite player ever.” He also credited Kobe with being an “inspiration” for him to become the person that he is today. Meanwhile, “6 Rings” closes with a voiceover from Bad Bunny, in which he says, “From the bottom of my heart, thank you. And what can I say? Mamba out.”
Kobe and Gianna were survived by Vanessa, as well as Vanessa and Kobe’s three other daughters, Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 6 months. Seven other people tragically died in the crash, including the pilot, Ara Zobayan, one of Gianna’s coaches, Christina Mauser, two of Gianna’s teammates, Payton Chester and Alyssa Altobelli, and the girls’ parents, Sarah Chester, John Altobelli and Keri Altobelli.