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Guvna B on West Ham rap, Isla Caton and dreaming of winning the Europa League
Rapper and diehard West Ham fan Guvna B stormed to the top of the streaming charts earlier this month with a freestyle rap about the club titled: Massive.
In the song, Guvna B raps about West Ham’s impressive season so far — with a dig at rivals Tottenham Hotspur and a plea for Jesse Lingard to rejoin the club this transfer window.
All proceeds from the song go to the family of Isla Caton, the seven-year-old who lost her five-year battle with neuroblastoma (a rare type of cancer) on Tuesday.
Here, Guvna B gives his thoughts to The Athletic on the club’s progression under David Moyes, the story behind his freestyle, Jarrod Bowen’s form and why he is hopeful West Ham will reach the final of the Europa League.
What was the thinking behind the freestyle?
Guvna B: Sky Sports wanted me to talk about potential signings, so I thought “what could I do”? I did a freestyle on how well we were doing as a team. A fan posted it on Twitter and the reaction was crazy. But I did it as a joke and I didn’t want people to think my music career is a joke. I wasn’t going to put it out but then I thought this would be a good opportunity to bring people together and do something nice for Isla.
It was nice to see Moyes mention it in his press conference. Then Declan Rice, Pablo Fornals, Ben Johnson and Ryan Fredericks reached out which was great. One of my dreams was to have my song played at the London Stadium and I’ve achieved it now.
The title of the song is Massive. So are West Ham “massive”?
West Ham are absolutely massive! Before we used to say it as a joke but every time we get a decent result we start to believe it. There’s power in words and there’s not many clubs like West Ham, when you think about our history and community aspect.
What have you made of the turnaround under Moyes?
When you look at where we were before Moyes took over, it’s been such a huge transition. He’s done a great job and there’s a feel-good factor around the place. On the odd occasion I go to the training ground, the men’s team are buzzing, so too is the academy and women’s team. It feels like a positive environment. Part of what Moyes has done is bring everyone together. Even the players that don’t start every game feel involved. I’m happy for Moyes because after the Manchester United job people said he was finished. I love a comeback story so I’m happy for him.
If you look at the last few seasons, when we’ve had Dimitri Payet and Felipe Anderson, it felt like everyone relied on them to be the key players so they could get us out of trouble. What Moyes has done has made everyone feel important. He’s got rid of that star player aspect. We all know Declan Rice is brilliant, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio have been in great form. But everyone is important and works just as hard.
Declan Rice recently celebrated his 23rd birthday. What present would you give to him?
A new contract!
Rice has elevated his game and it seems fans of other clubs are starting to appreciate him. Do you agree?
He’s come through the academy, so we’ve seen him go from a boy to a man. It’s rare when a player comes through, so the hype is justified and is respected by other teams. Rice is so likeable and this season it has been his offensive play that I have been impressed by. We all know he’s a great defensive midfielder, but he is so good at carrying the ball forward.
Bowen has also impressed. What do you think of the nickname Arjen Bowen?
I like it. Bowen needs to score more goals when he cuts in because Robben used to always do that. He is as important to us as Robben was for Chelsea. I don’t know where we would be over the last months if it wasn’t for Bowen. He’s got us out of trouble so many times. He’s climbed through the leagues and has improved year after year.
Which West Ham player is an unsung hero?
Aaron Cresswell. West Ham fans appreciate what he does, but I don’t think opposition fans are aware how important he is to the club. The number of assists he gets, his delivery, how much better we are with him in the team. The full-back conversation, I’m always hearing Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson and Reece James. Rarely does Cresswell come up in the conversation. For me, he’s one of the top five full-backs in the league.
When you tell people you support West Ham, what tends to be the reaction?
In the playground at school, some kids supported Arsenal because of Ian Wright and Thierry Henry, others supported Manchester United because of Ruud van Nistelrooy. We had Paolo Di Canio so we also felt a bit special, but the majority of the time we were getting laughed at.
I support my local club and it’s great to see West Ham finally getting the respect they deserve. People don’t believe the club can stay where they are right now. My argument is we’ve done it for two years, so why not? We need to guarantee European football next season, so we need to win the Europa League. If we win it, I’m going crazy.
It was a different feeling (watching the home game against Genk). Up until that point West Ham fans were used to getting knocked out of the early rounds of the Carabao Cup or FA Cup. Then I’m at the game and the lights are flashing, they’re playing Calvin Harris and the fans are dancing. It was a great atmosphere and it showed how far we’ve come as a club.
And also a great chance to go on a run in the FA Cup?
Any chance to get our hands on silverware we should take seriously. There’s so many amazing moments with the FA Cup. But away games at clubs like Kidderminster Harriers make me nervous. I hope we’ll advance to the next round.
It would be great to win silverware with it being Mark Noble’s last season. What does he mean to you?
He’s the last of a dying breed. I don’t think we’ll ever see a player like him again. He’s been a great servant and a consistent performer for the club. A player like Rice isn’t the same quality of captain without having someone like Noble to look up to. That’s how important he is to the club. I have a two-year-old son and I’ll tell him how hardworking and loyal Noble was.
I remember reading an interview where Noble told Lingard to put his phone away when he got in his car. That kind of highly-respected character is important. Noble deserves a statue outside the London Stadium.
Moyes is into soul and Motown, what genres of music are you into?
I grew up on Motown because of my parents. So I still listen to Luther Vandross, Tina Turner, Diana Ross and Jackson Five. But I also like house music and afrobeats.
On the subject of music, if you signed for West Ham what would be your initiation song?
I would pick something easy like the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song, or maybe Usher.
Do you think the striker department is the one area the club needs to strengthen?
Everyone can see it. The losses against Leeds and Manchester United were hard to take. But it’s good it happened during the transfer window because the owners will see we are competing, but we need to make signings to reach the next level under Moyes.
Manchester United brought on Edinson Cavani, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial in that game. We had good options from the bench but we didn’t have an attacking threat. We need a striker and it would be good to get cover in defence.
If big clubs come in for Bowen and Rice in the summer, they have got to want to stay. If we have a squad that can compete at a high level, it will help us retain our best talent as well.
There are so many good things going for the club right now. When we couldn’t attend games due to the pandemic, a lot of people said we were only doing well because the stadium was empty and the fanbase is toxic. We’re back in the stadium and we’re still doing well. There will always be fond memories of Upton Park, but this season is the first time the London Stadium has felt like home. Everyone has settled and I haven’t had that feeling since we left Upton Park.
And lastly, what’s your favourite West Ham memory?
The best day of my life as a West Ham fan was the play-off final against Preston in 2005. Everyone was buzzing on the train back to London.
Just imagine how crazy it would be if we win the Europa League? I’ll have to record a new song!
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