Five minutes with... AJ Tracey

AJ Tracey, 28, was all in a Spurs fan the moment his dad handed him a purple PONY shirt as a young boy in the late 1990s. Now one of the UK’s hottest music properties, with two UK top-three albums under his belt in AJ Tracey and Flu Game, his star continues to rise, from his breakthrough single Thiago Silva to triple-platinum Ladbroke Grove and now, appropriately, his latest offering, Seoul.

Fresh from his debut at Glastonbury, AJ flew out to Seoul to watch our Korean tour matches against Team K League and Sevilla in the Coupang Play Series, grabbing the chance to catch up with everyone at open training at Mokdang Stadium in the city last Friday - and that’s where we caught up with him...

How are you today?

AJ: “I’m good, it’s a bit warm, bit humid, but nice to be here.”

Could you imagine, five, six years ago, that you’d be here watching Spurs in Korea?

AJ: “It’s a bit surreal! Even just now, greeting the players as they came out to train, to me, that’s amazing. My dad brought me into the Spurs fold, and I didn’t think I’d make it this far, but I’m very grateful to be here.”

How would you sum up your last few years?

AJ: “It’s crazy, when people ask me, I always think that me and Spurs, we’ve risen together. I was able to keep up with the Club! I did Glastonbury recently, that was amazing. My mum is a big fan of Glasto, and she was so proud to see me there, over 100,000 people, crazy, just crazy. As an English musician, it’s almost a rite of passage.”

How has life changed in that time?

AJ: “I’m so blessed to have friends and family around me, they keep me grounded. It’s very easy to lose track or lose your way. The way to keep things going up is that you don’t settle. You reach a target, then you look for the next target, work out how you’re going to get there, how you can keep moving. And you have to, because it’s a brutal game out there, you can be here today, gone tomorrow. I love that Spurs fans, they might not listen to my type of music, but because I’m a Spurs boy they’ll give it a listen, I love that.”

What is your matchday routine?

AJ: “I tend to drive in now, usually meet my younger brother along the way. He lives in a different side to London to me. He might be an even bigger fan than me - he’s got a lot of trivia! We’ll park up, walk around the front of the stadium, get a bite to eat, sit down, excited, get a drink and say ‘hi’ to everyone around me. I’m a Season Ticket Holder, so I know everyone around me. It’s like a family.”

Do you have a ‘Spurs’ WhatsApp group?

AJ: “No, but I’ve a Spurs group on Twitter, all different fans from all over Twitter, everyone who loves Spurs. It’s a space where everyone can chill, relax and talk about Spurs.”

What is your earliest Spurs memory?

AJ: “My dad giving me the purple Pony shirt, late 1990s, and giving me a big hug. I’ve still got that shirt. It’s tiny, but I’ll never get rid of it.”

If you could play in one Spurs game, what would it be?

AJ: “I’d go 3-1 against Real Madrid in the Champions League (2017), or maybe the 6-1 at United (2020). And a cheeky one, the 3-3 against West Ham (2020) - I’d come on and score the winner, 4-3.”

What are you up to next?

AJ: “I’ve got a couple of singles on the way, then I’ll start working on my next project, probably an album. I’ve a lot of shows this summer, so this is my break. I treated myself to some time off to follow the team out to Korea and when I’m back, I’ll be straight back into it, in the studio, then shows next weekend.”

Seoul is out now...

Follow AJ @ajtracey on Instagram and Twitter...