Uploaded May 2024 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago
Baller Tapes is our new revolving feature exploring the intersection of sport, music, fashion and lifestyle, spotlighting the stars of tomorrow.
Noni Madueke is a natural. This isn’t to say that his aptitude makes him any less committed or hardworking, but it does speak to the aura of ease that welcomes our team as we descend on his house to deliberate over outfits, shoot portraits, and chat music. Ten years ago, this whole afternoon would have been considered an aberration for a young football player. Nowadays (at least for someone as open as Noni), it’s a welcome break from rigid structures, constant pressure, hearsay, and gossip.
“Football, music, fashion, it’s all connected for me,” he ponders between outfit changes and playlist switches. “It’s how I express who I am, and each one feeds into the other in some way.” Madueke, a young Barnet-born flair-player who mainly occupies the right wing in a youthful Chelsea team that is very much still a work-in-progress, is a baller for whom self-expression isn’t a choice, it’s a necessity.
“I’m 22 now, and I’m starting to really see the influence I have on younger players, and on younger people in general. I want to use my platform to inspire them to be themselves, have faith, and stay true to that,” he explains, echoing the notions of realness that run through Meek Mill’s version of serial motivator, DJ Khaled’s ‘God Did’ – his latest pre-game anthem.
Baller Tapes is our new revolving feature exploring the intersection of sport, music, fashion and lifestyle, spotlighting the stars of tomorrow.
Noni Madueke is a natural. This isn’t to say that his aptitude makes him any less committed or hardworking, but it does speak to the aura of ease that welcomes our team as we descend on his house to deliberate over outfits, shoot portraits, and chat music. Ten years ago, this whole afternoon would have been considered an aberration for a young football player. Nowadays (at least for someone as open as Noni), it’s a welcome break from rigid structures, constant pressure, hearsay, and gossip.
“Football, music, fashion, it’s all connected for me,” he ponders between outfit changes and playlist switches. “It’s how I express who I am, and each one feeds into the other in some way.” Madueke, a young Barnet-born flair-player who mainly occupies the right wing in a youthful Chelsea team that is very much still a work-in-progress, is a baller for whom self-expression isn’t a choice, it’s a necessity.
“I’m 22 now, and I’m starting to really see the influence I have on younger players, and on younger people in general. I want to use my platform to inspire them to be themselves, have faith, and stay true to that,” he explains, echoing the notions of realness that run through Meek Mill’s version of serial motivator, DJ Khaled’s ‘God Did’ – his latest pre-game anthem.
