Clint Dempsey Drops a Beat

It's been a big year for the 31-year-old Dempsey. In June, he scored the United States' first goal of the World Cup in the opening 32 seconds of Team USA's game against Ghana, the fifth-fastest goal in the history of the tournament. He's also been able to pursue his lifelong passion for music by working on his first rap album, which he is releasing with a friend. A portion of the proceeds from The Redux benefit the East Texas Food Bank, which is located not too far from where Dempsey grew up, in Nacogdoches. He spoke to SI KIDS about loving music and his appreciation for a good rhyme.

I GREW UP IN A BIG FAMILY. We were always riding around in the car together listening to music. When I got older, I started listening to more rap, and when I got my first vehicle I didn't have a radio in the car, so I used to rap wherever I'd go to pass the time.

WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL, I WAS JUST FREESTYLING AND TRYING TO COME UP WITH CLEVER THINGS TO SAY. When I went to college, I started writing about some of the stuff that I was learning in philosophy class and started writing down rhymes. When I began playing for the New England Revolution in MLS, when I had down time, my brother, Ryan, and I ended up making a studio in the apartment. It wasn't a nice one. We had really cheap equipment, but it was something fun to work on with friends. 

AT HOME, I RHYME WITH MY KIDS, JUST JOKING AROUND. They think it's funny. My oldest daughter, who is five, will try to figure out words that rhyme when we're driving back and forth from school. I think you pick it up from reading books like Dr. Seuss and seeing the rhymes in that. From there you come into writing your own type of music. I guess that's where it all comes from.


Photos: BRAD WHITE/GETTY IMAGES (DEMPSEY ACTION), COURTESY MLSSOCCER.COM/BRYAN GOULART (DEMPSEY RAPPING)