“It’s always been a dream of mine to record music,” AB says, and with collaborator Ampie du Preez he’s done exactly that. For now, De Villiers’ fans will have to make do with a single, “Show Them Who You Are”, with a full album in the works for later this year.

The song was written just before the recent Proteas tour to Australia for “motivational reasons”… and just look how we messed up those Aussies. We may not be 100% convinced by AB’s singing (at least not his accent), but these lyrics are nothing if not uplifting:

Escape to a far place in yourself
Where you can regain your strength
To find the things you need most
To boost your confidence. 

History (and Mike Proctor) will be the judge. After all, many a sportsman has tried their hand at musical stardom, including...

Global Greats

It doesn’t get any bigger than this. Pele, whom we all know as a living legend of soccer, doesn’t just like to dribble, he likes to samba:

Basketballers are known for their ego. None more so than four-time NBA champ Shaquille O’Neal, or as fans and haters alike call him, ‘Shaq’. Fitting then, that Shaq has dabbled quite a bit in another ego-driven sport: the rap game. Watch him go:

 Elsewhere in Cricket

Not to be outdone by a South African (are they ever) Aussie paceman Brett Lee has his own musical legacy in Six & Out, a band made up of New South Wales cricketers. 

Lee takes the lead in this East meets West number:

 Closer To Home

With our great musical heritage, you didn’t think AB was the oke with a record deal, did you? No, SA has plenty of athletes in the biz, many of them soccer players.

Doctor Khumalo, another hero of the 1996 African Cup of Nations, teamed up with Bob Mabena for a massive hit called “Get Funky”. There weren’t that many words, to be honest, but then again we know Doctor Khumalo did his talking on the pitch.

The bad boy of Bafana’s front line, Benni McCarthy, is also in on the action. Back when the whole nation still loved him, he was hanging out with kwaito superstars TkZee. You can hear him tuning “Die poppe gaan dans!” on YouTube.

Next In Line

Come on Bakkies Botha, we know you have it in you. Don’t let it be said that rugby players, and Blue Bulls in particular, can’t sing. That would be a tragedy. We know you’ll make us proud.