A masked rapper is among the headlines, not for his music, but because of his supposed identity.
Rapper Dide has attracted interest from plenty of fans after claiming to be a Premier League footballer. At the time of writing, his first released rap track has racked up more than 100,000 views on YouTube.
We are not sure about the music, but the caption of the video shared on Friday certainly roused interest. It read: “Get ready to be blown away by the powerful new music video for ‘Thrill’! Our talented artist dives deep into the emotional turmoil and struggles he keeps hidden from the fans. From behind his mysterious rose mask, he proves himself an incredible lyricist, exploring identity, inequality, and modern society in astonishing detail.”
In the video, the face of the ‘top-flight star’ is completely covered by a mask. However, the location shots hint that he’s from London.
As such, initial guesses from fans included players from South London and Wilfried Zaha was mentioned frequently. But one fan claimed the rapper sounds nothing like the Crystal Palace talisman.
Another South London prodigy, Jadon Sancho, who has spent more time on the bench or out of the matchday squad under Erik ten Hag at Manchester United than on the pitch, has been suggested to be the rapper, who in his early Instagram posts wrote: “Rapper at Home, Footballer on the Pitch!!!.”
The general consensus is that "Dide" is Nketiah or Zaha
I've done some internet detective work. I don't think it is..I think it's Sancho
However, some eagle-eyed fans believe Dide is Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah. Some of the reasons mentioned for this claim include a lyric about ‘Gunners’ and his go-to celebration being performed in the music video with more than 7k likes and 10k comments. A reference to North London rival Tottenham Hotspur further adds to the intrigue.
Arsenal finds themselves in a tight title race with relentless Manchester City. Considering what’s at stake, it’s hard to imagine Mikel Arteta would allow any of his players to think about, let alone engage in a different career path at this stage of the season. Nketiah, who scored a late winner against United in January, is an important squad player at the Emirates.
The Spanish manager is known for maintaining total control in the dressing room and wasn’t afraid of sidelining superstar Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang when he breached his protocols by arriving late for the game against Spurs. Imagine how he’d react if one of his players is UK music’s latest sensation, Dide.
Interestingly, Dide has now claimed he’d go maskless for the next video if he reaches 50,000 subscribers on YouTube. On Monday, an Instagram story from the rapper noted: “Ok if everyone wants to know who I really am. I will release my next music video with no mask if I get 50k YouTube subscribers.”
At the time of writing, Dide has just over 7,000 subscribers. But considering the hype he has generated with the idea of ‘footballer turned rapper’, it won’t take long before he crosses that mark. And if he’s indeed a Premier League star, it’d be best to reveal his identity following the end of the current season.
