Entertainment is a mantra Alex Iwobi lives by. Whether the Fulham winger is celebrating a stoppage-time winner at Old Trafford or experimenting with freestyle rap in the studio during downtime, both forms of expression come with that core similarity. âI like to entertain; be it music, football, friends,â he explains on a call with CLASH shortly after training. âThatâs how Iâve been as a person growing up, in whatever I do. If Iâm having a bad day Iâll get a football, kick it against the wall and try to do the latest tricks.â
Spending the majority of his childhood in Newham, East London, Iwobi â who was born in Nigeria â began his career at Arsenal, making 149 appearances and scoring fifteen goals. He departed for Everton in 2019 before returning to London to join Fulham four years later. Inside the Craven Cottage dressing room, defender Calvin Bassey is on current matchday DJ duties, Iwobi reveals. âHeâll have an afrobeat mix, a rap mix and he puts on some salsa songs for the South American [players]. He likes to accommodate everyone.â Alongside old-school Nigerian sounds from his household, Iwobi cites Giggs, Chip and Wizkid as his formative artists, highlighting the latterâs 2011 album âSuperstarâ as a particular favourite. Currently, ImDavisss and T-Painâs collaboration â4 Uâ is on repeat for Iwobi.
Earlier this summer, Iwobi introduced the world to his rap alias 17, an extension of his off-the-pitch passion project, Project 17. He dropped his inaugural single âDonât Shootâ, a collaborative track with two other footballers: Ramsgate midfielder Medy Elito (Don-EE) and Ajax forward Chuba Akpom (Scoli), who played with Iwobi whilst at Arsenal. âMy shirt number 17 is the number that everyone associates with me,â Iwobi explains of the catalyst behind the project. âWhen Iâm with my friends and we go out for food, if they donât want to make it noticeable that Iâm there, theyâll [call me] 17. Itâs a nickname that I have, and it works nicely.â Iwobi has relished the chance to terraform his own creative world from ground zero, bringing his hobby to life. âAt my sisterâs wedding everyone was singing my song, word-for-word. I felt like an actual rapper. It felt mad,â he beams.
âDonât Shootâ came about organically after Iwobi reconnected with Akpom, who was also raised in Newham. Performed from an autobiographical perspective, the trio memorialised their inner city origins and individual struggles, pinpointing a difficult transitional period for Akpom at his club Ajax. âWe used âDonât Shootâ to get across a message about people trying to stay off the streets,â Iwobi explains. âOur weapons are our football boots. If youâre gonna shoot, shoot a football.âÂ
Conceptualising a music video which involved animation and videography coordination across Amsterdam and London, âDonât Shootâ came together over the course of a year, finally arriving this June alongside another track, âSunrise In Parisâ. âIt was a bit difficult to get [Akpom] involved because Ajax werenât really doing too well. He wanted to focus on football, so we had to be patient. To get a good message across to Ajax, we said the best time to release it would be the end of the season when thereâs no pressure.â
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In an age where social media is rife with toxicity, with players unfairly targeted for poor performances, itâs unsurprising that so few players have the courage to publicly pursue other creative hobbies. Inspired by his uncle, footballing legend Jay-Jay Okocha, Iwobi hopes that other players have the confidence to express themselves off the pitch, whatever form that may take.
âFootballersâĤ we have a lot of personality and a lot of spare time,â he shares. âWeâre also humans, and we all have emotions we want to express. If we strictly enjoyed football, personally, I donât think thatâs healthy. Footballâs a short career, and thereâs more to life afterwards. Many footballers have other hobbies, itâs just not me. Iâm not afraid to show what I do, whereas some others would rather keep it private.â
Fashion is a sphere Iwobi is increasingly taking an interest in, having attended both London and Paris Fashion Week in recent years. Showing CLASH the treasured necklace he only removes for matchday (âIâve had it blessed. Iâve had people pray over itâ), he explains how KidSuper are one of his favourite current brands, having had an eye-opening conversation with owner Colm Dillane. âHe had this concept of understanding the process of what makes someone create a certain style. It amazes me. To me, thatâs art, and itâs another way of someone expressing themselves. Itâs something Iâm trying to understand more. I like to be different. I donât like to dress the same as anyone else.â
Plenty of young ballers would snap their hand off for Iwobiâs career, an established Premier League player and Nigerian international at the age of 28. He puts his forays in music down to this firm foundation heâs built up gradually. âYou have to be mentally strong, and I feel like I developed that the older I got,â Iwobi reflects.
And the wisdom heâd impart heâd import to next-gen? âEveryoneâs first dream is to become a footballer. They may have other hobbies, but theyâll probably be a bit afraid to showcase that. Thereâs nothing wrong with advertising your hobbies, but I also know what the media is like: theyâll say that the young kid is not focused. If youâre mentally brave and strong enough, do what makes you happy,â he concludes. âThatâs the advice I was told, so thatâs the advice I would give.â
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Alex Iwobi wears IH NOM UH NIT, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Amiri, Nike, Christian Dior, Kapital, LVÂ x Timberland, Hidden Gems, Starchainworld, Purple Brand.
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