7 months ago
36
At least one music marketer is championing the strong link between music and sports as superstar cricketer and reggae artiste Chris Gayle and eight-time Olympic gold medallist and music producer Usain Bolt have been named as ambassadors for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which will run in the USA and Caribbean from June 1-29.
Chris Gayle has established himself in music as the Universe Boss and was the lead artiste on the album Tropical House - Cruises to Jamaica: The Asian Edition, which was sent to the Recording Academy last year for Grammy Awards consideration. Additionally, Gayle hit a massive six three years ago with a collaboration with Indian rap artiste Emiway Bantai, on the song Jamaica To India. The video for that single has amassed 80 million views on YouTube.
In an interview with The Gleaner, the Universe Boss shared his delight at not only being made an ambassador, but also for what it means for his brand.
“I really feel like the Universe Boss is helping cricket to crack the USA market by being an ambassador for the T20 World Cup tournament this summer. Sold-out matches are expected. We launched the trophy tour at the Empire State Building in New York recently. I’m grateful to the ICC for selecting me as ambassador and to my team in Jamaica, Camar Flava and Contractor, for keeping my brand at a high standard. I would also like to thank the Commissioner of City of Lauderhill, Denise Grant, for her role in bringing the T20 World Cup tournament to America this year,” Gayle told The Gleaner.
Track and field legend Bolt has made a big splash in music. In 2019, he co-produced three dancehall mixtapes, namely the Olympe Rose Riddim, Immortal Riddim, and Clockwork Riddim, and last year he received a Billboard plaque for his 14-track collaborative album, Country Yutes, which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart in 2021.
Headlines Delivered to Your Inbox
The ICC’s release last week, announcing Bolt as an ambassador, stated that “Bolt expects to see the party atmosphere in full force in the Caribbean – with ‘fans enjoying the dancing, music and high-energy’ atmosphere it is renowned for – while the 37-year-old is also keen to see how much of an impact cricket can make in its first major venture into the American market”.
Music marketer, producer and publicist Sean ‘Contractor’ Edwards told The Gleaner that Gayle and Bolt as ambassadors for the T20 is “good for Jamaican music”.
GOOD FOR BRAND JA
“My assessment is that it’s really good for Brand Jamaica. Cricket opens Usain Bolt to over a billion fans in India and Chris Gayle, who is already an icon in the sport of cricket, can now market his brand in the United States where some of the matches will be played, as well as broadcast on major USA television networks. Ironically, they both have ventured into music and they can incorporate some Jamaican music into the marketing of cricket in the USA and worldwide,” Edwards stated.
There’s no denying that the fun has already started. Edwards and has joined thousands in enjoying a bellyful of laughs with the recent antics of the two on social media, which has seen Gayle challenging fastest man, Bolt, to a race, which he insists he will win.
“All Usain Bolt will be seeing is a lot of dust and the Universe Boss just going down the stretch,” an enthusiastic Gayle stated confidently in a video shared by the ICC.
Bolt is definitely here for it. “We all know Chris can’t run. We have seen him. We know Chris doesn’t do quick singles or anything. We’re not worried about Chris,” was his calm reply.
Never one to back down, Gayle called out Bolt’s statement as “a big lie”.
He assured, “I run a lot of ones, twos, threes, you name it … sometimes even fours. So, Bolt, get your running spikes ready. And if you want to bring any other athlete along, you know, Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell, anybody, somebody gonna come fourth. And it’s not me!”
Fans say this is the video they never knew they wanted and the ICC is labelling this a “Match-up of the Caribbean legends: Usain Bolt and Chris Gayle” and is asking the question: “Whose side are you on?”
English (US) ·