2 Chainz honored his late friend and NBA star Kobe Bryant with a new tattoo. The Rap Or Go To The League rapper shared a photo of his newly inked knees to Instagram on Tuesday (Feb. 11), which show the number “24,” one of Bryant’s famed jersey numbers.
“Thank you,” he captioned the post, tagging his tattoo artist.
Kobe and 13-year-old Gianna were killed in a tragic helicopter crash on Jan. 26, along with six other passengers and the helicopter pilot. The father and daughter were laid to rest on Friday (Feb. 7) in a private funeral held in Los Angeles. A public memorial will take place at the city’s Staples Center on Feb. 24.
2 Chainz took the basketball star’s death particularly hard, posting several Instagram photos of remembrance last month.
“Heart broken and speechless,” he captioned a picture of himself, Kobe, Gianna, Offset and Quavo. “If you know me you know this killing me right now. Rest In Peace Bean and Gigi Bryant and prayers to Vanessa and the Bryant family and the rest of the families involved.”
“I am truly lost for words, my idol,” he wrote in another post.
The investigation for the cause of the helicopter crash is still ongoing. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), initial findings have shown that the aircraft did not suffer engine failure.
Ahead of this weekend’s NBA All-Star Game, the National Basketball Association announced it would change the game’s format to reflect Bryant’s jersey number.
“We spent a lot of time considering the right target number to use for the fourth quarter,” NBA President of League Operations Byron Spruell previously explained. “Through the events of this week it became clear to us that the only appropriate number for this season’s All-Star game is 24.”
As an athlete who played in 18 NBA All-Star games over the course of his 20-year career, this will mark one of many tributes made to Kobe throughout NBA All-Star Weekend.