MARGO: Anyone who knows about the rivalry between the East coast hip-hop and the West Coast hip-hop scenes in New York will never say they are a fan of both Notorious B.I.G and Tupac Shakur. From the mid to late 1990s, both the artists were extremely vocal during feuds. In fact, it was so bad that both of them were shot dead by unknown assailants in 1996 and 1997 respectively.
But for a kid born in the 2000s, the attraction should be all about the quality of music that they produced. For them, the complexity and difference in lyrics barely matter. For the millenial’s, it’s more about the fancy beats that help them groove.
Hence, it was evident when Timothy Weah of the US U-17 team spoke about his fascination for the hip-hop culture that he only cared for the music they made. Timothy who recently signed a professional contract with PSG is an artist himself and has produced six tracks, without labels with a bunch of friends.
“From a young age, I really loved music of different styles like jazz to whatever it is. Growing up in New York, the hip hop culture is pretty big. I was born in the 2000s and though Biggie or Tupac are not from my era, it’s still trending and they are big stars. I am just a person who loves music and I thought, why not create something myself when I am home or during free time. Some friends of mine actually DJ and whenever I go to visit, they always drop some beats and we see what we could do to it. So it’s just really fun. A big shout out to all the artists who are doing their stuff,” he said.
What started as a time pass became a little more serious when Tim uploaded one of his songs in Sound Cloud. While his primary focus is firmly on helping USA win the World Cup, his talent and interest in music often helps him relax. While plans to become a professional artist can still become reality, Tim says that he just does it for fun. “I just do it with my friends. One of them has a studio in his house. So I go there and have fun like teenagers. We just record and its funny sometimes and we keep it to ourselves. Actually, I uploaded one song on Sound Cloud called Paris Interlude.”
His music sense will be of great help if he gets a chance to represent the senior PSG team, who has the likes of Neymar and Dani Alves. Everyone is aware of the Brazilian’s enthusiasm for shaking a leg and another member who has similar interests will be welcomed with both hands. As for Tim, a small fan-base inside the dressing room (USA) is a proof that he is pretty good. “A couple of my teammates know. They listen to it and they like it and getting some love from them is really encouraging. They sometimes joke about it and say ‘Well, well, we have got Tim singing’,” he concluded.