By Bradley Jacks >>>>>For more than two decades, Chris Gayle entertained cricket fans around the world with his phenomenal big-hitting ability.
His hitting prowess has made him widely regarded as the greatest T20 batsman ever, with his numbers dwarfing his closest competitors.
Since 2020, however, the “Universe Boss” has shifted his focus from cricket to another passion of his: music.
Gayle says his desire to pursue a career in music began during the COVID-19 pandemic when UK based artist, Stylo G, approached him to record a remix to his song titled “Too Hot.”
“When I listened back to it I was pleased with the outcome and that’s how it all started,” Gayle told SportsMax.tv.
From there, I recorded more songs until I started my own label named Triple Century Records and built my own recording studio in my house,” he added.
Fast forward to 2023 and Gayle’s album titled ‘Tropical House Cruises to Jamaica-The Asian Edition’ has entered the 2024 Grammy’s under the Reggae Album of the Year category.
“My entire music career has been surreal and being chosen as the headliner and face of the album was a great feeling. Being in the Grammy race for best Reggae Album is exciting because it’s a dream of mine to win a Grammy,” Gayle said.
The album features a number of musical giants such as Lauryn Hill, Morgan Heritage, Capleton and Sizzla to name a few.
The project, as the name suggests, was marketed mainly to Asia, specifically India, which Gayle describes as his second home. The 44-year-old had a phenomenal career in the Indian Premier League (IPL), first representing the Kolkata Knight Riders before donning the colors of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and finally the Punjab Kings. He was inducted into the RCB hall of fame earlier this year.
“India is my second home and cricket is the national sport there. I have many great cricket memories there and I am loved by the Indian people. I have two songs with Indian artists that did really well there with Emiway Bantai and Arko,” he said.
“So, with India being such a huge market and with my popularity there, we decided to merge sports and music fans and market the music there,” Gayle added.
The Jamaican has not limited his sights to just music, however, as he also mentioned a desire to one day be on the big screen in Bollywood.
“I recently came in an Ad campaign for the Cricket World Cup with a major Bollywood actor for Zomato which is a food delivery giant in India. So, I hope to have more roles with Bollywood actors and even act in a Bollywood film soon as well as have my music featured in Bollywood soundtracks,” Gayle said. (Sports Max)
