When Two Worlds Collide: The Most Memorable Football and Rap Collabs

“And I can still kick balls like Drogba, young and I make big wins like Gotze, too far gone, can't catch me Costa” AJ Tracey - 'False 9'

Over the years we have seen many UK rappers make countless references to top footballers in their lyrics. Giving that bar an extra edge, as it relates to rap and the most avid football fans. In recent years the biggest UK rappers and prolific footballers have integrated within each other’s circles more frequently. Whether it's partying at high profile clubs together, footballers rapping lyrics in their Instagram lives or rappers doing campaigns with the football clubs they support. There seems to be a greater sense of unity between the world’s top entertainers which has garnered a lot of attention from fans across the world. Both entertainers perform in front of thousands of fans in stadiums and they both sign mega contracts. Whether it's getting signed to a record label or signing a new 4-year contract at a top club. Let us delve into the most iconic footballer X rapper link-ups which have unified a set of fans from different genres of entertainment.

STORMZY X PAUL POGBA

In 2016, Manchester United announced the return of Paul Pogba to Old Trafford for a record signing of £90 million. This signing shook the football world. As fans revelled to see one of the best footballers in the world play in the Premier League. Considering the status of Man Utd and the flamboyancy of Paul Pogba, his announcement had to be special, and it was! UK rap fans were shocked and proud when it was revealed that grime MC Stormzy was chosen by Adidas to add an extra special touch to this announcement. To mark this move, Stormzy appeared in an Adidas promo video performing his “Nigo Duppy” freestyle while wearing a Pogba shirt with Pogba dancing alongside him. This collaboration between a UK rapper and a football club brought together by Adidas signified the parallel importance rappers and footballers have within each other's entertainment industry.

DAVE X AJ TRACEY - THIAGO SILVA

The Dave x AJ Tracey track 'Thiago Silva' was released in May 2016 and took the UK rap scene by storm with this legendary link up. The catchy grime beat sees the two rappers go back to back with bars making reference to the legendary Brazilian defender Thiago Silva. 5 years later, the video for this song on YouTube has racked over 42 million views. The song reached its peak level of commercial recognition when Dave performed this song at Glastonbury in 2019. Dave then invited a young fan (Alex) to then perform the lyrics in front of the crowd which then went viral within a few minutes. The video of the two rapping was retweeted over 40 thousand times and peaked at over 120,000 likes. This then caught the attention of Thiago Silva himself who then retweeted the performance saying thank you to Dave, AJ Tracey and the performing fan Alex. Dave then reacted to this tweet with a tweet of his own showing gratitude towards his achievement.

TION WAYNE X JACK GREALISH

One thing that rappers and footballers have in common is that they make sure their drip is clean. Whenever a rapper or footballer is spotted out you know they'll be wearing exclusive designer tops, trainer’s, watches and jewels. Both are definitely trendsetters in their respective fields. They have also enhanced the popularity of many fashion designer brands and jewellers. This can be seen with Tion Wayne’s recent collaboration with street fashion brand Benjart for his upcoming debut album “Green With Envy”. The fashion line titled the “Green With Envy Collaboration” was made available to purchase on 19th August. With the rapper taking to Instagram to promote his collaborative piece with a picture of himself and England and Manchester City footballer Jack Grealish. The footballer was modelling the Green with Envy hoodie and was joined by Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang modelling the t-shirt collection. The innovative collaborations between footballers and rappers in fashion to promote an upcoming album shows just how invested the two sets of entertainers are in each other’s crafts, further highlighting the significance of the close relationship between the two fields. This can also be seen with a clip on YouTube showing Tion Wayne and Jack Grealish attending a highly reputable jewellery shop to buy jewellery together.

AJ TRACEY X TOTTENHAM KIT LAUNCH

Everyone in the rap scene knows that AJ Tracey is a big Tottenham fan as he makes countless mentions to his love for the club in his lyrics. This is most notables in songs such as “False 9” and “The Lane”. “In my crib, man can't chat about Arsenal. Man are real Spur, I’m chatting about Tottenham.” AJ Tracey took things a step further when he aided Tottenham with their kit launch in the 17/18 season. The kit launch video was posted on Tottenham’s YouTube which showed AJ Tracey performing live to Tottenham fans where he then goes on to reveal the new Tottenham kit underneath his jacket. AJ Tracey and Tottenham’s relationship has grown over the years, with the rapper continuing to be part of new kit launch campaigns, album billboard promotions and even attending football games and meeting the players and managers. The rapper has also conducted interviews on Sky Sports where he talks about the quality of the team, the transfer rumours circulating around the club and his personal relationship with some of the players.

STORMZY X MERKY FESTIVAL

The event that universally brought rappers and footballers together was the introduction of Merky Festival by Stormzy. This event ran every summer from 2017 where the rapper organised a 2-day event full of performances from rappers and DJs located in Ibiza Rocks. This included day to night poolside sets, multiple stages, secret room parties and a line-up of the most in-demand artists headlined by Stormzy himself. In 2019 Merky Festival hit its peak. Once tickets went on sale, 364 hotel rooms were sold out within 45 minutes and 2000+ tickets were sold in just under 2 hours. The event saw the likes of famous influencers and many footballers in attendance. Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho and Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling were a few of the many footballers in attendance at these star-studded events. This event allowed fans to see their favourite rappers and footballers link up, dance and take pictures together. Making all of us at home want to get tickets for the next Merky festival so we don’t miss out on such a high-value opportunity to meet our icons in person. The music video for Dave’s hit song “Location” featuring Burna Boy was also filmed during this festival, giving fans a closer insight into how eventful Merky festival really is.

It is clear to see how the rap culture has accepted footballers into the mix of bars, drip and lifestyle. With many rappers and footballers being close friends behind the scenes it will be interesting to see how these entertainers will continue to collaborate with each other and elevate their status in the world of entertainment.