Life after professional sport can be difficult for many. Not for Usain Bolt.
Since retiring from athletics in 2017, the nine-time Olympic champion has kept himself extremely busy with a vast array of ventures, including a brief soccer career with Australian side Melbourne Victory, time as a brand ambassador for Virgin, and the launch of his own e-scooter brand, Bolt Mobility.
His most significant move, however, has been into the world of music.
In July 2019, the 33-year-old unveiled his first project as a producer — “Usain Bolt presents: Olympe Rosé Riddim” — which was released alongside a champagne of the same name.
The tape featured five tracks in which five different Jamaican artists rapped or sang over the titular beat.
The lead single, a medley, has been watched nearly three million times on YouTube.
“Music is something that I’ve always wanted to go into,” Bolt told Business Insider in an interview in February.
“I had the opportunity to do that when my champagne came out. So we did the riddim [Jamaican patois for the instrumental on a track] for that, and we’ve had the chance to do another riddim since. It’s great because people are really starting to take me seriously.”
Now, having explored his musical heritage in Jamaica, Bolt is ready to take things stateside with one of America’s biggest rap stars, Quavo — one of the three members of Migos.
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Bolt says he and Koffee, real name Mikayla Simpson, are close, and that he can even take credit with putting her on the map.
“She made a song about me,” he said. The song Bolt is referring to is her 2017 debut single “Legend.”
“And it was so good when I heard it. People [have] always made songs about me throughout the years. But when I heard hears I was like: ‘This I really good.’
“I put in on my Instagram, and it got so much traction and stuff, that’s where it all started for her.”
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(H/T BusinessInsider)