Philadelphia emcee Meek Mill has angered a number of fans due to a new song that mentions the late Kobe Bryant. On Monday, his widow Vanessa Bryant also expressed her dismay with the song that discusses the NBA legend and the tragic helicopter crash that claimed his life.

The 33-year-old rapper has not yet released his collaboration song “Don’t Worry (RIP Kobe),” which also features Atlanta hip-hop artist Lil Baby. However, the song leaked earlier this week, and some of the lyrics have been deemed disrespectful to Bryant, who died in January 2020 along with his daughter Gianna and several others in a helicopter crash.

The controversy over the leaked song lyrics began last week, but Bryant did not speak about the song until Monday. In an Instagram story, she noted that though she was not familiar with Meek’s music, she was certain he “could do better than this.”

ajc.com

Credit: Via Instagram

icon to expand image

Credit: Via Instagram

Many online commented that the lyrics about the deceased basketball star, who also hails from Philadelphia, are appalling. On Twitter, Meek, whose real name is Robert Rihmeek Williams, made a vague reference to some of the reactions to his song Thursday.

His response and the song brought a slew of responses Thursday and Friday on Twitter.

A few Meek Mill fans saw the creativity in the line.

The rapper followed up late Thursday with an Instagram post that showed a hat with Bryant and his daughter’s name signed. He also commented about not allowing the internet commentators to get to him or influence change in his music.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Georgia Power's Plant Bowen in Cartersville is shown. The utility wants to add about 10,000 megawatts of power supplies in just five years, mainly to serve data centers. (Hyosyb Shin/AJC 2015)

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Featured

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney — pictured during a hearing Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 — has cleared the way for Georgia's State Election Board to obtain Fulton ballots and other documents from the 2020 election. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC