Baller Tapes: Alex Iwobi

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. “I like to entertain; be it music, football, friends,” he explains on a call with CLASH shortly after training. “That’s how I’ve been as a person growing up, in whatever I do. If I’m having a bad day I’ll get a football, kick it against the wall and try to do the latest tricks.”

Spending the majority of his childhood in Newham, East London, Iwobi – who was born in Nigeria – 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. “He’ll have an afrobeat mix, a rap mix and he puts on some salsa songs for the South American [players]. He likes to accommodate everyone.” Alongside old-school Nigerian sounds from his household, Iwobi cites Giggs, Chip and Wizkid as his formative artists, highlighting the latter’s 2011 album ‘Superstar’ as a particular favourite. Currently, ImDavisss and T-Pain’s collaboration ‘4 U’ 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 ‘Don’t Shoot’, 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. “My shirt number 17 is the number that everyone associates with me,” Iwobi explains of the catalyst behind the project. “When I’m with my friends and we go out for food, if they don’t want to make it noticeable that I’m there, they’ll [call me] 17. It’s a nickname that I have, and it works nicely.” Iwobi has relished the chance to terraform his own creative world from ground zero, bringing his hobby to life. “At my sister’s wedding everyone was singing my song, word-for-word. I felt like an actual rapper. It felt mad,” he beams.

‘Don’t Shoot’ 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. “We used ‘Don’t Shoot’ to get across a message about people trying to stay off the streets,” Iwobi explains. “Our weapons are our football boots. If you’re gonna shoot, shoot a football.” 

Conceptualising a music video which involved animation and videography coordination across Amsterdam and London, ‘Don’t Shoot’ came together over the course of a year, finally arriving this June alongside another track, ‘Sunrise In Paris‘. “It was a bit difficult to get [Akpom] involved because Ajax weren’t 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 there’s no pressure.”

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In an age where social media is rife with toxicity, with players unfairly targeted for poor performances, it’s 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.

“Footballers… we have a lot of personality and a lot of spare time,” he shares. “We’re also humans, and we all have emotions we want to express. If we strictly enjoyed football, personally, I don’t think that’s healthy. Football’s a short career, and there’s more to life afterwards. Many footballers have other hobbies, it’s just not me. I’m not afraid to show what I do, whereas some others would rather keep it private.”

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 (“I’ve had it blessed. I’ve had people pray over it”), he explains how KidSuper are one of his favourite current brands, having had an eye-opening conversation with owner Colm Dillane. “He had this concept of understanding the process of what makes someone create a certain style. It amazes me. To me, that’s art, and it’s another way of someone expressing themselves. It’s something I’m trying to understand more. I like to be different. I don’t like to dress the same as anyone else.”

Plenty of young ballers would snap their hand off for Iwobi’s 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 he’s built up gradually. “You have to be mentally strong, and I feel like I developed that the older I got,” Iwobi reflects.

And the wisdom he’d impart he’d import to next-gen? “Everyone’s first dream is to become a footballer. They may have other hobbies, but they’ll probably be a bit afraid to showcase that. There’s nothing wrong with advertising your hobbies, but I also know what the media is like: they’ll say that the young kid is not focused. If you’re mentally brave and strong enough, do what makes you happy,” he concludes. “That’s the advice I was told, so that’s the advice I would give.”

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Alex Iwobi wears IH NOM UH NIT, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Amiri, Nike, Christian Dior, Kapital, LV x Timberland, Hidden Gems, Starchainworld, Purple Brand.