It’s fair to say many of us had envisioned ourselves growing up and either becoming a professional musician or sportsperson but multi-talented, Matt Robinson is juggling both simultaneously and not lacking in either department.
The 26-year-old, born in Leicester was released from his home club, Leicester City’s academy in 2012, thus took an unorthodox route joining (at the time) Conference side Luton Town, before taking a journey round England on loan at multiple clubs (Kidderminster Harriers, Grimsby Town, Woking)
In 2016, Robinson signed for Dagenham and Redbridge and has since cemented himself as a regular in the centre of the pitch – appearing 128 times in the league for the Daggers, scoring one in the process. A good start at the club also gave him a chance to represent the England national C team (non-league international level) in 2016.
JACK OF ALL TRADES
Concurrently, the “Leicester Lad” dons the alias Kamakaze, releasing Grime music and brushing shoulders with the likes of AJ Tracey and Dave, and most recently releasing project ‘Royal Rumble’ with Big Zuu, Capo Lee and Eyez.
He rose to fame in the Grime scene through his ‘Warm Up session’ with Jamal Edwards on SBTV and a ‘Road Rage freestyle’ on JDZ media, as well as various independent releases which earned him a ‘Fire in the Booth’ with Charlie Sloth on BBC 1Xtra.
In 2016, Red Bull Sound Studio’s creation of ‘Mind the Gap’ gave artists from various areas in the UK the chance to compete lyrically in a knockout format and showcase their talent.
Kamakaze featured for Leicester in the now legendary ‘Midlands vs London Cypher’ boasting 1.7 million views on a recent re-upload of the video on YouTube.
His Warm Up session entails his double life
CULTURE
Continuing in his rise to popularity, through the release of FIFA 20 in September 2019, Robinson became the first person in history to feature in a FIFA game through both a player card on Ultimate Team and a song of his included in the soundtrack of the gaming franchise. He features with Massappeals on ‘Last Night’ cementing his place in the history of the game.
With this and football culture/fashion going hand in hand, Kamakaze teamed up with Umbro in August 2020, to create a limited edition Kamakaze FC retro football shirt, for fans of him through his music or football.
The growing popularity of creating a shirt that looks good to wear both on and off the pitch, blurs the lines between the two aspects, and for a project like this Robinson seemed the perfect candidate.
FOCUSING ON THE FUTURE
As good as all this sounds, Robinson ensures that football is his “main priority”, as it brings in the majority of his income. Focusing on football and using his down time to travel to the studio and create music, seems like the perfect balance.
In terms of going forward and maintaining this balance, he told Sport Bible there will be “lots of music, lots of football, lots of happiness. I’ve got a plan for the year musically and performance wise this season has probably been my strongest on the field, so yeah I’m enjoying my life and may that long continue.”
As his consistency prevails, Kamakaze looks forward to his release of ‘Memories over Money’ this Friday, before Matt Robinson prepares for a clash against Yeovil Town on Saturday at Victoria Road.
