Vanessa Bryant Wishes Mary J. Blige a Happy Birthday With Throwback Video of Kobe

Vanessa Bryant celebrated Mary J. Blige‘s 51st birthday on Tuesday (Jan. 11) with a heartwarming video with her late husband, basketball legend Kobe Bryant.

“Happy birthday MJB,” the model and philanthropist wrote alongside the video, which shows herself and the NBA legend singing along to Blige’s performance. According to Naomi Campbell, who commented on the post, the singalong took place at Diddy’s star-studded 50th birthday party in December 2019.

“I ain’t got no plans/ No, no, no, no/ And the sound of the rain/ Against my window pane/ Is slowly, is slowly driving me insane, boy/ I’m goin’ down,” the happy couple sing at the top of their lungs, smiles on their faces while Blige is heard belting out her 1994 hit “I’m Goin’ Down.”

Kobe, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and six others died just weeks later in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif., while traveling to a youth basketball game at Mamba Sports Academy.

Blige is slated to take the stage in February at the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar. The moment will mark her second appearance at the big game’s festivities, a full 20 years after performing alongside Aerosmith, *NSYNC, Britney Spears and Nelly at the iconic 2001 show.

The halftime appearance will also herald the arrival of the singer’s upcoming 14th studio album, Good Morning Gorgeous, which is slated for release on Feb. 11, two days before kickoff. The album, which marks Blige’s first full-length effort since 2017’s Strength of a Woman, has been preceded by singles “Good Morning Gorgeous” and the DJ Khaled-assisted “Amazing.”

Watch Vanessa’s touching throwback video with Kobe here.