Man United star Ferdinand is loving his life of grime

Posted Tuesday, December 27, 2011 by The Sun

Man United star Ferdinand is loving his life of grime
IN THE MIX ... Rio Ferdinand loves his music

RIO FERDINAND loves a bit of grime and garage.

But, don't worry, he's not taken to doing up old cars.

It's music that gets Ferdinand revved up as the Premier League title race starts to crank up a gear.

So what exactly does he listen to before a game?

The Manchester United and England defender said: "It has to be hard stuff. UK Grime like Kano, Wiley and Chipmunk.

"Or Old School house, garage and jungle and heavy hip-hop, I need to be as pumped up as possible before I take to the field and those usually do the trick."

And if you win?

"Usually a bit of old reggae, Dennis Brown and Bob Marley or some classic R&B like R Kelly and Jodeci."

And lose? "I'll be angry and will go back to the hip-hop. Losing is the worst thing about football, no doubt."

What about on the way into training? He said: "At the moment the Drake album is on heavy rotation on the way to training.

"For me, it's the best hip-hop album of the last year. Noel Gallagher's album is getting a lot of plays, I think it's a very good album.

"Watch the Throne, the Jay-Z and Kanye album is another that has been hammered and also James Morrison."

What about before a night out?

"Could be anything but I'll usually chuck on a bit of radio. Probably Westwood."

He clearly doesn't share the musical tastes of all his teammates, so who has the worst?

Ferdinand said: "It used to be Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but Kiko Macheda is the king now. Even with the big headphones you can still hear what people are listening to and I heard some weird techno blasting out from his the other day."

Ferdinand has also revealed that he is lost without his gadgets when he is out and about.

He said: "I don't go anywhere without my iPod, iPad and Blackberry. I'm in trouble if I lose any of those, they're my mainstays. If I forget any of them I'm all over the place, I can't live without them."

Ferdinand also loves his apps but what are his favourites...

The centre-back said: "There are loads to be honest. There's a golf app I love playing, it's not Tiger Woods but it's incredibly addictive.

"But to be honest with you on the iPad I like checking out the other magazines to assess the competition.

"I read GQ, Wired and a lot of other lifestyle publications to see what they're doing.

"I also love playing John Madden, I'm a huge American football fan and play that a lot.

"Apart from that I've got a lot of educational stuff for my kids, number games, word games, shape games, they're always playing on it with me.

"It's a great way for them to learn and me to teach."

Ferdinand also likes a good box set to get through on the TV.

He said: "Top Boy is my new favourite. A few of my friends were in it and it's very intense, I hope they make another series, I thought it was brilliant.

"And also Phone Shop, the funniest thing on TV for me. That's it at the moment.

"I missed out on The Sopranos and The Wire at the time, all the lads at the club love them and I keep meaning to go back but there is so much to get through.

"I also thought Luther was great, Idris Elba is a top actor and that is a good British police show."

While Ferdinand has plenty of interests off the pitch, what he does on it remains his priority.

People were starting to write off the 33-year-old earlier this season but he was in top form leading up to Christmas and had already played 17 times this term.

A niggling foot injury caused Ferdinand to miss the 5-0 win at Fulham last week and he also sat out yesterday's 5-0 win over Wigan — but hopes to be fit for Saturday's Old Trafford showdown with Blackburn.

Ferdinand said: "I haven't felt this good for 18 months to two years.

"Playing regular games breeds confidence in your own body and your performances and, as I said, I feel great.

"A lot has been said about individuals in our squad, which is something you come to expect at Manchester United, and I think the criticism has been harsh in some cases.

"I've always said that when I'm playing consistently you will see the best of me.

"The problems I've had the last couple of seasons with injuries have meant I've been getting through games and maybe not being able to train, then missing a few games and coming back in.

"That makes it difficult to get a level of consistency and that's been my problem.

"But this season I've played consistently and you can see the rewards of that."

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