In recent years, we have seen a growing number of top-level footballers from across the globe dabbling in rap music, and some of these players have achieved relative success.
Here is a closer look at three professional footballers who have been the most successful at turning their hands to the rap music industry, some of whom are still playing at the top level today.
Three footballers who also have rap careers
Several iconic footballers have stepped into the recording studio on more than one occasion, and although many of these footballers-turned-rappers will be remembered by most for their abilities on the pitch, some of them are carving out a niche in the rap industry and may be remembered by others for their musical talents.
We will just have to wait and see.
Three of the most famous footballers who have had the most success at making money from rapping are the following:
- Memphis Depay
- Neil Danns
- Asamoah Gyan
Other footballers who have dabbled in the rap world at some point over the past 10 to 25 years just for fun to produce a one-off track, or in a more serious light, are John Barnes, Erling Haaland, Andy Cole, Royston Drenth, Alphonso Davies, and Romelu Lukaku.
That’s not forgetting Clint Dempsey, Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Babel, Jese Rodriguez, Paul’ Gazza’ Gascoigne, Youri Djorkaeff, and even Neymar.
Some of these players hung up their boots and stopped playing professionally many years ago, and others are still either at the top level or coming to the end of their careers and are looking for new ways to continue making money after they retire.
You can also potentially make money on some of these rappers who still play football today by betting on them on numerous fully licensed and regulated iGaming sites like 10bet South Africa. This trusted site has thousands of monthly football betting markets for the world’s top-flight football leagues.
However, sites like this won’t ever take bets on who the next footballing rapper might be. That’s just something we will have to wait and see to find out. Let’s now take a quick look at some of the names of the rap songs these footballers have released.
Memphis Depay
Memphis Depay is a 30-year-old Dutch footballer who currently plays as a striker for La Liga side Atlético Madrid in Spain. He also plays for his country and has had spells at PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, Lyon, and Barcelona.
His most famous tune, ‘No Love,’ is by far his most famous rap song, having received over 20,000,000 views on YouTube. Others include These Days, Big Fish, Blessing, Fall Back, 2 Corinthians 5:7, and 5 Milli Freestyle.
Neil Danns
Former Guyanan professional midfielder Neil Danns, who is now 41 and has played for numerous clubs, such as Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Birmingham City, Crystal Palace, and Leicester City, to name a few, once released a single called Keep your Head Up, featuring Spyder, and Janiece Myers.
However, his musical career now focuses more on the production side than rapping.
Asamoah Gyan
Former Ghanaian professional footballer Asamoah Gyan, 38, was still playing football when he recorded his first rap tune. In 2012, he released a track called ‘African Girls,’ which featured Kofi Kinaata and Castro.
What other tracks are worth checking out
In England, the oldest and most famous rap song from a professional footballer was released back in 1990 to coincide with the 1990 FIFA World Cup. John Barnes rapped in New Order’s hit song ‘World in Motion’. He is even still known to sing it upon request whenever people ask.
That wasn’t the only time Barnes dabbled in music. He was also part of the Liverpool squad that released the now infamous ‘Anfield Rap’ song, which only Liverpool fans will remember.
When Erling Haaland was just 16, he teamed up with two of his Norwegian U19 teammates to form a trio, Flow Kingz, and released a cringe-worthy rap song on YouTube.
Clint Dempsey once released a track dedicated to his sister, who tragically passed away at the age of just 16 from a brain aneurysm. It was in conjunction with a Nike promotional offer, and the track was called ‘Don’t Tread.’
Final thoughts
If you want to hear any of the rap songs created by these famous footballers, one of the best sites to try first is YouTube. However, the video quality for some of these videos is terrible.
If you can’t find them on YouTube, then you may have to spend a bit of time searching elsewhere, although it might not be worth your time and effort because a lot of the rap songs created by these footballers aren’t that great and will likely not be remembered in years to come.