Right-back Sean Clare is pursuing an Afrobeats career at the same time as playing for Leyton Orient, writes Marco Marcelline
A Leyton Orient player has said his side hustle as an Afrobeats singer shows that footballers can be “more than the box they are put in”.
Sean Clare, who this week released his second single Follow on streaming platforms, is now gearing up for the release of his debut EP – recorded during post-match studio sessions.
The 29-year-old writes and records under the stage name of SRUMA (taken from the Akan word nsruma, literally translated as “child of the heavens”) to reflect his Ghanaian heritage.
The Hackney-born defender is in his third season with Orient and has 360 professional appearances under his belt for clubs ranging from Sheffield Wednesday to Heart of Midlothian, Charlton Athletic, and now the Os.
But now he is attempting to take on the world of Afrobeats – all while still playing for Leyton Orient.
Clare made his live performance debut on Sunday, 17th May, performing songs from his ever-expanding discography to a crowd of over 250 people at Colours Hoxton.
The headline gig, which featured support from rapper friends DN9NE and TASHLDN, raised £2,000 towards a charity set up in memory of his close friend and fellow footballer James Barker who sadly died recently of a brain tumour.
Speaking to the Echo, Clare says his Afrobeats career demonstrates that people can be “more than one thing, while staying focused and committed in them all”.
“Trying to debunk the narrative of putting people in one box is one of my main aims, by using music to help unite and bring communities from all backgrounds together,” he said.
The right-back first started writing songs in his early twenties while playing for the Scottish Premier League team Heart of Midlothian, which is based in Edinburgh.
Stating that writing music was a form of recreational release at the time, he explained: “Many of my teammates were older than me and, after training, they would head back to their families, or out to the golf course.
“I didn’t really fancy golf and, because music has been such an important part of my family upbringing, it seemed natural to explore this side of my creativity.”
Clare was initially reluctant to publicly showcase his Afrobeats music due to the “toxicity” of social media.
He said: “I played my songs only to my family and close friends because social media surrounding football can be extremely toxic, and some of the worst keyboard warriors – either through envy or ignorance – seem incapable of accepting that players are human beings and have lives beyond the stadium.”
But that fear was eventually proven to be unfounded as the vast majority of fans have been supportive of his side venture, he said, before adding: “Football is, and always has been my love, but I can’t be a footballer 24/7.”
You can listen to SRUMA (Sean Clare) on Spotify here
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