USA soccer team captain Clint Dempsey is putting his skills on the field aside temporarily to take up a new career: being a rapper. Dempsey has been busy since his World Cup days working on releasing his new hip hop album "The Redux."

In an interview with XXL magazine at the launch of the FIFA 15 video game - Dempsey is featured on the game's cover - he broke down why he decided to step out of his familiar role as an athlete.

"I liked rap from a young age, from listening to MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice," Dempsey said. "As I got older, I started getting more into it...I've always been connected to the music that's in Texas and I wanted to show love to them because they always remind me where I came from."

"The Redux," with the help of DJ Skee, Trae Tha Truth and XO, Dempsey is releasing the new project under the stage name Duece, and his sales will go to fund charities that help feed underprivileged children in his home state of Texas.

"I'm just happy to be able to work with someone like Trae and to show love to Texas rap," the soccer star added. "To be with a guy like this who's done so much for Texas in terms of not only music but for what he does with the kids in terms of "Trae Day" and reaching out to all those kids, giving them school supplies and giving them an opportunity to have a great day. He really does a lot for the community. So I wanted to showcase that."

Dempsey want to assure everyone, however, that this project and music will not interfere with his professional soccer career. The budding hip-hop star plays for the Seattle Sounders, who won the U.S. Open Cup.

"I feel like I've been able to find the right balance of still staying fresh in games and still being able to be productive," Dempsey said.