Alex Iwobi is well accustomed to the standards footballers are held to, however unfair they may be. His burgeoning rap career has only made him more aware of the lens through which they are perceived.
One incident, which took place as last season’s Premier League title race between Manchester City and Arsenal approached its climax, made that abundantly clear. The title was out of Arsenal’s hands, and they needed City to drop points in their final three games. One of those was against Iwobi’s Fulham., who had nothing left to play for, yet were suddenly thrust into the spotlight.
A few days prior to the clash, a clip of some Fulham players leisurely flying kites on their training ground went viral on social media. It sparked indignation among Arsenal fans and amusement among the rest. Fulham were accused of not taking their preparation seriously, accusations that were hardly dispelled by their subsequent 4-0 loss.
“People were thinking we’re distracted. If we didn’t put that in the media, everyone would’ve thought ‘oh, they’re focused, they’re focused,'” Iwobi, who came through Arsenal’s youth system and played four seasons in the first team, tells ESPN.
“We train hard, we’re not gonna train hard for 24 hours of the day. We like to have downtime as well. So after training, some people were relaxing and the media has obviously caught them with the kite, but that was literally like 10 minutes after a gym session. So when we see all of that [reaction], we’re like ‘oh here we go, there we go.'”
As the 28-year-old prepares for his ninth season as a Premier League player, he has learned to care less about what people think and is showing a different side of himself.
Earlier this summer, Iwobi became the first Premier League player to release an EP. Under the name 17, he put out a single titled “Don’t Shoot” along with Don-EE (former England youth international Medy Elito) and Skoli (Ajax striker Chuba Akpom, Iwobi’s former Arsenal teammate.)
With references to Moise Kean and Declan Rice, and lyrics like “It’s not West Ham, I’m trying to blow all bubbles,” “Don’t Shoot” is reflective of the trio’s footballing backgrounds, while the accompanying animated video is an ode to their upbringing in Newham, East London. The central message of the song is to dissuade young people from taking up street violence.
“You see the weapon stuff and in London — where I grew up — you’re about to see something,” Iwobi says. “Everyone wants to be a footballer, an artist or people want to make fast money, which isn’t the greatest [thing.]
“So you see things that you wouldn’t want to see at a young age and it’s just trying to stay and remain on the right path. So I wouldn’t explain what I’ve been through, but I’ve seen things that I wouldn’t want to share and I’ve overcome it.”
He adds: “I’m grateful for the upbringing I had because I wouldn’t be where I am without what I’ve been through. My parents, the support system I’ve had, my friends, it’s made me the man I am. I matured quite early and I wouldn’t want everyone to go through what I’ve been through. I want everyone to have a smooth life. So in any way I can share that across, then I’ll do so.”
Iwobi began freestyling when he was in school and has been creating music for the past eight years. Yet “Don’t Shoot” is the first song he’s released, as he feared people thinking he was distracted from football.
This was especially true at his former side Everton, where he narrowly avoided relegation in his final season. Iwobi had a song with teammate Amadou Onana that he’d been desperate to release, but decided against it in case people used it as “ammunition.”
The release of “Don’t Shoot” was delayed for similar reasons. The song was ready by December but, given the struggles of Akpom’s club at the time, they waited until the off-season to put it out.
The intensity of the online backlash players can face make it hard to be seen to exist beyond the realms of their profession. Athletes deleting their social media accounts due to the abuse they receive has become increasingly common. Iwobi suffered a similar fate after this year’s Africa Cup of Nations; following Nigeria‘s loss in the final, he archived all his posts on Instagram. In that context, releasing his own music can be seen as an act of defiance.
“So this is what I realised recently, that you shouldn’t be ashamed to express yourself,” he says. “If you wanna focus on football, feel free, but like at the same time, there’s more to life. You are who you are. For me, I enjoy music, enjoy fashion, enjoy giving back to communities. So as much as I can tap into that, I’ll do that as well. Not just football.”
“I’ll give 100% with football, but I’ve got other passions as well. And with footballers we have a lot of free time as well. So I feel like some people are afraid to do so and go down that route because of the way the media can portray them. But I’m just showing that I’m not afraid to do that.”
Alex the rapper has drawn praise for his prowess behind the mic. Prominent Nigerian artist Odumodublvck believes Iwobi “has it in him,” adding: “Imagine the type of music he’ll make.”
The collision of football and music catapulted Odumodublvck’s own career. His song “Declan Rice” was Spotify’s No. 2 streamed global rap track in 2023. The tune, championed by Rice himself, was used by Arsenal when announcing his signing last season. Odumodublvck believes more players should explore interests outside the sport.
“As a human being, you can’t put all your eggs in one basket in terms of happiness,” he tells ESPN. “If you are a footballer and you decide to make football the only thing that makes you happy, what happens when you don’t have access to it? You should have other things.”
It’s a sentiment Matt Robinson agrees with. The 30-year-old has two lives: he’s a midfielder for National League side Braintree Town who has enjoyed previous spells with Luton Town and Dagenham & Redbridge, but he’s also Kamakaze, a rapper with four albums and over a million monthly listeners. He holds the distinction of being the first person to appear in the soundtrack of EA Sports FC and in the game itself.
Robinson began rapping at the age of 12, but his childhood was centred around becoming a footballer. It’s why being released by Leicester City at 18 came as such a blow.
“So the identity crisis for me was; I’m from Leicester, I support Leicester, I play for Leicester. Alright, not anymore. So who am I now?,” Robinson tells ESPN.
“I think a lot of people, especially when they don’t have any identity other than being a footballer, it’ll crush them. It will crush their view of themselves. They probably feel a sense of either self-loathing or that they’ve let everyone around them down. Because for 16 or 18 or 20 years, this is what you’ve been built up to be.
“And I think for me, I did have the advantage [that] by 18, I was already Kamakaze. I was a guy in Leicester. I’m not saying I was anyone but at least [people] knew ‘ah it’s Kamakaze, he spits bars, he plays football.’ Even if I didn’t play football anymore, I would’ve still been this guy.”
From keeping separate X accounts for music and football, to having his commitment questioned by managers, to being dubbed an “embarrassment” by Leicester’s academy head for rapping, balancing his two identities wasn’t easy for Robinson. But he believes the landscape is changing.
“I definitely think more people coming forward and doing it is allowing more people to come forward and do it,” he says. “Especially when you are someone as successful as Alex Iwobi or Chuba Akpom [or Netherlands international] Memphis Depay, whoever you want. You can’t say that it is taking away from their football when they’re already at a level that is the highest level.”
Iwobi may be a box-to-box midfielder but he won’t be boxed in. And by breaking out, he’s showing other athletes that they can too.
“I’m ready to express myself and I want people to see me for me,” he says. “Not just Alex the footballer, but Alex that’s just himself, that likes to enjoy and live life.”