Behind The Scenes Of Krept & Konan's FIFA 22 Track 'The Kick Off'

It’s been a funny old 18 months, with the lack of fans in stadiums throughout the 20/21 season taking away the essence of the game; in its place on our screens was a crowd effect lifted from FIFA 21. While there was no denying the quality of the sounds, it just did not replace the missing atmosphere generated by having a rocking stadium full of real people. With the kick off of the 21/22 season though, fans have returned, bringing with them the authentic soundtrack to a match that we’ve all craved so much, and to celebrate their return, EA Sports enlisted the help of Krept & Konan, who have written a track while also helping to direct the accompanying video.

Catching up with the Hip Hop duo behind the scenes of the video shoot, we spoke about the track, the return of fans, memories of FIFA and more.

Tell us about the track, how did it come about and what were you looking for it to represent?

Krept: EA SPORTS reached out and said they had this opportunity to welcome fans back into stadiums for the new season. We love FIFA, so it was a no brainer! But working on a game that we grew up playing was challenging. We had to work on it remotely as I was away, but I feel like we got the assignment done. 

What’s been your experience of football behind closed doors last season?

Konan: It's just not the same. You can't recreate the vibe and energy that fans bring. Having fans back 100 percent brings the game back to life.

We had a taste of it at the EUROs. Where did you watch the England games?

Krept: We were lucky enough to watch a couple of the games, including the finals, at Wembley stadium. The atmosphere was amazing – to be back amongst the fans was inspiring.

How did you cope with the final defeat? Gutted and ignore all social media, or upbeat and move on?

Konan: Gutted, but more gutted for our mates who play for England.

Speaking of those mates, it feels like you guys have pulled the worlds of football and music closer together. You’ve got a lot of friends in football… how do those friendships start?

Krept: Organically. We have friends that work in the football industry, we go to the same places too, so it’s a celebration every time we link up!

Konan: There are obvious similarities between being a performer on stage and a performer on a football pitch.The pitch is their stage. The pressure to perform well is something we can relate to! It definitely helps to build a mutual respect.

One such mate that you have is Jadon Sancho – what sort of person is he away from the pitch?

Krept: He’s just a humble, down to earth guy that’s worked really hard to get to where he has and he just wants to keep progressing. That's admirable. He is going to bring so much to the team and Varane is a solid centre back – as United fans we're very happy with the transfer window, reckon we're winning the league!

Will you be making up for lost time by getting to a few games? Picked out any fixtures yet?

Krept: Definitely going to be going to some games, not sure which just yet though. We have to figure the diary out.

Konan: We actually got to play at Old Trafford recently – that was crazy! We don’t play that often anymore but to go out there and win was dope.

Talking about FIFA then, which teams do you normally play as? And who normally wins when you play against each other?

Konan: It depends who I’m playing against…

Krept: I do! Always.

Konan: I've got great memories of FIFA down the years though. Think my first FIFA game was the World Cup ’98 one, where you could score mad free kicks with the arrow!

Krept: To be honest though we play it more now! We have it in our viano when we go to shows and on the tour bus too!

What are some of your favourite tracks on FIFA down the years?

KO: Disclosure - F for You is up there, I think it was from Fifa 14 or 15?

EA SPORTS FIFA 22 is available to pre-order now on PS4, Xbox One and PC.