US soccer star Clint Dempsey is also a rapper by the name 'Deuce'
Standout U.S. forward Clint Dempsey got into the record book on Monday when he scored one of the fastest goals in World Cup history, also becoming the only American to score a goal in three World Cups. During the offseason, Dempsey, going by the name "Deuce," made an actual record.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Dempsey and a friend/rapper XO spent two weeks in a studio in Los Angeles, where the duo recorded 13 tracks for an album titled "The Redux." The Journal reports that he raps about going from rags to riches and "banging Gs" (scoring goals -- get your mind out of the gutter).
"We just were having fun with it and it ended up being an album," Dempsey told the Journal.
But he didn't just wake up and decide he wanted to be the next athlete in a long line to put on headphones and make music, usually bad music. Apparently free-styling always been a hobby of his, and you may recall he made a foray into the music world in 2006 with the song "Don't Tread" for which Nike produced a video.
"The Redux" drops at 9 p.m. tonight at Deuceandxo.com. Meanwhile the Journal has a single "It's Poppin" and it's surprisingly good, at least to my ear which is mostly filled with Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen.
"Because he's a soccer player, people automatically expect it to not be good," said Mike Chehade, a friend of Dempsey's and the album's executive producer. "I'm not saying he's Eminem, but he's definitely qualified."
Dempsey said he's going to put the album out of mind as he's focused on soccer right now, yet, does he listen to his own music when he warming up? I would. Is that weird?
"We're not known as a soccer powerhouse - we're almost known for being soft," Chehade also said. "But Clint has this edge."
He does, but Dempsey's toughness was obvious on the field Monday when he got blasted with a Ghana player's foot that looked certain to have shattered Dempsey's nose. Dempsey came right back in after getting it cleaned.
At 9 p.m. we'll see what the rest of the album sounds like. The lower rung for athletes' hip hop albums was set by Shaquille O'Neal in 1993 with Shaq Diesel.
And because I made a promise to myself a few years ago to embed this song in many posts as possible:
