Hours after being remembered during the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, Kobe Bryant was honored during a midnight Sunday Service (Jan. 26), hosted by Kanye West. The Jesus Is King rapper gathered Chance the Rapper, Kirk Franklin and his Sunday Service choir to pay their respects to the NBA legend, who tragically passed away with his daughter on Sunday after a deadly helicopter crash (Jan. 26).
“If Kobe was here… he here tonight,” West can be heard addressing the Sunday Service crowd, in between sniffs. “He here tonight.”
“I was driving home/They was leaving your jersey on the freeway, and I just broke down, broke down, broke down,” West sang.
Earlier in the day, West had reacted to the sad news on Twitter.
“Kobe, We love you brother,” he wrote. “We’re praying for your family and appreciate the life you’ve lived and all the inspiration you gave.”
Franklin, who also took part in the Nipsey Hussle Grammys tribute earlier that night, appeared on the intimate stage to shed some words of wisdom.
“There will be moments where the loving Father will not seem to make any sense and we’ve been told [in religion] that it’s wrong to ask God why. But what loving Father would ever turn their child away for asking the hard questions why?” Franklin asked. “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
Later on, Chance took the stage for a tearful rendition of Kanye West’s “Ultralight Beam,” from his 2016 The Life Of Pablo LP.
Bryant was honored throughout the Grammy Awards on Sunday (Jan. 26), starting with a special joint performance by Grammys host Alicia Keys and Boyz II Men. Lizzo, Run-D.M.C., Lil Nas X, Aerosmith and more also honored the late athlete during their perfomances. Bryant’s photo was also cast alongside Nipsey Hussle’s during a tribute event for the late rapper.
Find footage of the Sunday Service from Kim Kardashian’s Instagram Stories below.