Boyhood dream for Reepa as he becomes first artist signed by Wolves football club record label
The first official signee to a football club's record label has described it as being as good as becoming a player.
Reepa said that signing for Wolves Records was a dream come true for the lifelong Wolves fan, having grown up watching the club as a youngster in Heath Town.
The Grime artist became the first official signing for Wolves Records, signing his contract on stage in the middle of his headline set at the Louder event in the North Bank Bar at Molineux on Friday.
He said: "I was born and bred in this city and I'm really proud to be representing it, so tonight is a big deal for me and for all the young lads who are looking up to me.
"It's crazy to think that I'm the first act to sign for the label and there's a lot of sentimental value to it, being a Wolves fan and having played football myself, so I'm pleased to be a part of the football club through the record label."
Reepa helped to launch the new Wolves kit for the 2022/23 season and joked about getting players like Ruben Neves involved in performing as well.
He said: "It was a great buzz to help them launch the kit and I got to play some two touch with Neves when we shot the video and I felt like I gave him a run for his money.
"I'd like to get him on stage and see what he's like on the mic, but I think it's great that I'm on the same side as him and this label is great for the club, great for the city and a big opportunity for artists in the region.
"I always wanted to be a Wolves player, but this is the next best thing and a dream come true and I'm excited for the future as I think you're going to see big things from this label."
The event, which is the third event held by the label, also saw sets by Split the Dealer, Ben Kidson and Sola, as well as a special guest performance from internationally-renowned producer S-X.
For Wolves Records head of label Ricky Hill, the signing of Reepa to a record deal was the culmination of a lot of work, but was also just the beginning.
He said: "We had a bit of a mission statement when we created this label that we wanted to create a platform with an audience that we could push music to, such is the uniqueness of this label.
"We also wanted to create a platform for emerging talent that had that talent, but didn't have the team around them and the short term capabilities to take their music to a wider audience.
"The fact that the first act we've signed is a Wolves lad ticks so many boxes for us and you can see the community starting to get behind it, so this is just the beginning for us as we have so much planned."
The signing of Reepa also gives the label a major boost, according to Wolves partnership sales manager Kieron Ansell, who said that the idea of a football club record label could seem bizarre, but made sense from a brand point of view.
He said: "We have a globally engaged audience of 200 million people who say they are interested in the club, so that means we have a tentative audience who are listening.
"We've been talking to the head of the label Ricky and we have conversations going on with a number of artists about bringing them on to the label.
"These are not genre-specific, but are a plethora of artists, and really talented artists at that, and we are ready to take these guys out into the world and promote the brand."
