[dropcap size=big]I[/dropcap]t was only a matter of time until someone in Los Angeles immortalized Kobe Bryant via corrido martyrdom. After all, Los Angeles has the second-highest population of Mexicans outside of Mexico City and it is a fact that Bryant held a special kinship with Latino fans and culture.
Sure enough at 9 PM last night, not even 12 hours after the official announcement of Bryant’s passing, Charles “El Guapo Guzman Del Valle” Goose uploaded what is sure to be the new Kobe anthem to be played loudly from trucks and backyard family parties all over Los Angeles, “El Corrido de Kobe Bryant.”
“I’m a rap artist who has been making music for over ten years,” Goose tells L.A. Taco over an interview. “This whole Kobe Bryant situation really hit me hard, so I wanted to make something original and from the heart.” In this case, the 30-year-old’s heart was telling him to go with his Mexico-born roots and go with a corrido. Goose recounts that he was in the freeway when his wife told him about Kobe’s passing and that had to pull over to process the initial stage of grief.
The Chalinoesque corrido covers all the bases of a great Mexican anthem honoring a fallen hero: a melodic accordion, a brief summary of his origin and of his demise, an ode to his legacy, and a cathartic expression of life and death.
“We grew up with him and as soon as I heard, I knew I had to honor him.” Goose shares that it took about an hour to write the catchy, melancholic lyrics and about three hours to produce the track, with the help of some friends who played in paisa bands. The San Fernando Valley-raised independent artist tapped into his family’s roots in Michoacán for inspiration.
The Chalinoesque corrido covers all the bases of a great Mexican anthem honoring a fallen hero: A melodic accordion, a brief summary of his origin and of his demise, an ode to his legacy, and a cathartic expression of life and death.
It’s time to call your primos, camaradas, familia, buy yourself a 12-pack, open a bottle of Buchanan's, play this on repeat, take a deep breath, and let your emotions free. And while you’re at it, bump Jorge Ochoa’s “EL CORRIDO DEL KOBE BRYANT” from 2010, too.
Arriba Los Lakers, pariente, y fierro plebes.
Here are the lyrics to El Corrido de Kobe Bryant by Charles Goose.
Nacido en Filadelfia pero a Los Angeles se fue
El y su hija volando nunca se imaginaron
Muertos en un barranco sin como volver
Siempre fue el mero mero
De la linea NBA
Dejando todo atras
Siempre se la rifaba
Cinco anillos en mano
Era el campion de este mundo
Ya se nos fue la leyenda
Señor Kobe Bryant
Los angeles ya te llevaron
No se prque no se esperaron
Otro dia mas lejos
Si no que el dia de hoy
Y no agüite familia porque el Kobe no perdio su vida
Si no que la gano en el cielo, asi es.
English translation
Born in Philadelphia, but he left to Los Angeles
Him and his daughter they never would have imagined
Dead in a mountainside without any way of coming back
He was always the best-best
In the NBA
Leaving everything behind him
He always came through
Five rings on his hand
He was the champion of the world
Our legend is has left us
Mr. Kobe Bryant
The angels took you
I don’t know why they didn’t wait for a day later in life
Instead of today
And don’t be sad, fam. Kobe didn’t lose his life
He gained a new one in the sky
