South London rappers Krept and Konan have spent recent months travelling the length and breadth of the nation, in search of inspiration for a new, diverse sporting chart-topper.
The duo, who were born and raised in Thornton Heath and Gipsy Hill, have released a new documentary on BBC iPlayer to showcase their journey of creating England’s Euro 2020 anthem.
Krept and Konan, real names Casyo Johnson and Karl Wilson, met with England manager Gareth Southgate to ask him what elements he would like to see included.
They also had the help from England stars including Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Tyrone Mings and Declan Rice when writing the song.
Konan told PA this week: “Meeting the players and stuff, a lot of them are our peers.
“It’s very daunting and you’ve got to think about it like, ‘Wow. OK, how do we approach this? How do you attack this?"
Speaking about the diversity element, Krept added: “Things have changed a lot, man. In the documentary, we asked people ‘What’s your definition of England?’ and everybody had different answers.
“Some people are brought up on council estates, some people thought ‘Oh, fish and chips’.
“Everybody’s version of England is different, especially now, considering it’s 2021, everything’s a lot more diverse.”
Krept added: “Being a football fan back in the day, you’d see one or two black players on the pitch, maybe.
"Now our England team has a lot of black players, young black players, and they’re coming from areas that we’re coming from, you know what I mean?”
Growing up in South London, Krept describes their local club, Crystal Palace, as a “local support network”.
“You can’t even say you’re a fan of it, it’s just a part of your life,” he continues. “As soon as I could walk, I was kicking a football. I had a Man United shirt as a kid. My idols were like [David] Beckham and [Thierry] Henry growing up as a kid, Ronaldo – these are all my superheroes.
“But [Jadon] Sancho’s from Kennington, you know? He’s from down the road from where we’re from. It’s literally one road from Thornton Heath, London Road, all the way to Kennington.
“So I feel like a lot has changed since back in the day, from the fans, to the players. Everything. It’s a lot more diverse.”
As for England’s prospects?
“It doesn’t make sense if the final is at Wembley and there’s no English fans in the stadium, it doesn’t make sense,” enthuses Krept with a smile.
“I feel like this year, we’ve got the best team we’ve ever had. So we actually stand a strong chance this time.”
Krept and Konan: We Are England is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.
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