LL Cool J says he advised Kobe not to release gangster rap album

Kobe Bryant's foray into rap during the late 1990s and early 2000s proved to be far less successful than his other off-court endeavors, as his debut album,
"Visions," was shelved after its first single.

Rapper LL Cool J recently shared a story about Bryant playing the album for him and said he discouraged the late Los Angeles Lakers great from releasing it.

"We talked about rap," LL told ET's Kevin Frazier. "He played me this album, this gangster rap album, and I was like, 'Kobe. ... Come on, dog. That's not what you need to be doing.' ... We're sitting in a parking lot. I was confused, I was sittin' there like, 'What are we doing? You got endorsements, what are you doing?'

"It had to be the funniest moment of my life, listening to him do gangster rap."

LL also reminisced about Bryant performing "K.O.B.E." with Tyra Banks at the 2000 NBA All-Star Game.

"Yeah, we're not gonna pretend like we wasn't laughing," LL said. "Like, yeah yeah yeah, the world was laughing, that was not - but, you know, he took his shot. He took his shot."

Bryant's unreleased album apparently also included a song featuring Destiny's Child called "Baby, Baby, Baby."