Kenny Smith Giving Meek Mill "A Pass" Following Controversial Kobe Bryant Lyric

Kenny Smith says he's going to give Meek Mill a pass after hearing his controversial lyric about Kobe Bryant.

BYCole Blake
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Kenny Smith says he's giving Meek Mill a pass for his controversial lyrics about the late Kobe Bryant that surfaced online, this week. Smith says Mill has earned the benefit of the doubt.

Ethan Miller / Getty Images

“I’m a Meek Mill fan,” Smith told TMZ. “I know that he’s a huge basketball fan, huge Kobe fan. Whatever he says, I’m always going to give Meek a pass.”

“I always give Meek the benefit of the doubt,” Smith continued. “He has a track record that speaks pretty long and pretty positive in the past year.”

“Yeah, and if I ever lack, I’m goin’ out with my chopper, it be another Kobe,” the Philadelphia rapper said on the polarizing track, which features Lil Baby as well. The lyrics come just after the one-year anniversary of the Lakers' legend's death.

Bryant tragically died during a helicopter crash with his daughter Gianna and seven others on January 26, 2020.

Lil Baby adds on the song, "I damn near wanna have a son so I can name him Kobe."

Seemingly in response to the public backlash, Meek tweeted, “internet antics cannot stop me” on Wednesday night. 

"They paying to influence y’all now ... its almost like mind control 'wake up,'” he added in another tweet shortly after.

[Via]


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About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.