WEST INDIAN CRICKETER ANDRE RUSSELL, UNDER THE NAME DRE RUSS, TO RELEASE DANCEHALL SINGLES!

Andre Russell

By Simone Morgan—-

 Andre Russell—

Top: Beenie Man

WEST Indies fast-bowling, all-rounder Andre Russell is adding recording artist to his resume.

Using the moniker Dre Russ, the 26-year-old cricketer is expecting the release of his two singles — Sweetheart and Sweat Whine — this week.

The latter, is a collaborative effort with dancehall artist Beenie Man. Barbados’ Peter Coppin and Jamaica’s Blackspyda Records are credited with Sweat Whine’s production. Blackspyda also gets production credit on Russell’s solo project, Sweetheart.

Speaking via telephone from South Africa yesterday, Russell said he is taking the recording business seriously.

“The same way I put out my all on the field, is the same thing I will be doing to my music career because the sky is the limit. I can balance both careers, as sometimes when I am on tour, I have a lot of free time in between matches,” he said.

According to singjay, Sweat Wine is a dancehall/soca hit directed at the ladies.

“It’s something that the ladies can dance to. It’s really about being in the club and dancing until your sweating. I decided I wanted a fusion of soca and dancehall because I love fast pace music,” he said.

Russell told the Jamaica Observer he was always interested in recording music and would oftentimes express the desire to Fredrick ‘Blackspyda’ Wright, who is a former Jamaican under-19 cricketer.

“When Blackspyda’s father passed away recently, I visited him to show my condolences and then we started talking about doing music on a professional level. I then went to the studio and after listening the riddim, I got a vibe then came the lyrics. We both agreed that Beenie Man would make a perfection combination, so Spyda made link with Beenie, who recorded his part,” said Russell said.

Russell said he expects another Blackspyda Records-produced single, Sweetheart. Also produced by , the song is another directed to his female fans.

In the meantime, the cricketer is currently on tour with his team mates in South Africa. He made his Test cricket debut against Sri Lanka in