Jimmy Butler Says He’s Written 60 Country Music Songs, Eyes Debut Album

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler: six-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA player ... and country music extraordinaire?

In a Tuesday interview with The Guardian, Butler told Claire de Lune that he has written about 60 country songs for an album to be released at an indeterminate future time.

"There’s so many people out there, and I’m one of them, that are like, ‘Man, I can do that,’ and you really don’t know how difficult it is to make a No. 1 song," Butler said. "Humble yourself. It is incredibly fun, I’ve had a blast while doing it. But I will tell you that it’s not easy."

Butler attended high school in Tomball, Texas, a small town about 30 miles north of Houston—though he told Rolling Stone in October his love for the genre originated when he was at Marquette.

He told de Lune he envisioned himself in a curatorial, DJ Khaled-esque role for his album, rather than as a singer.

"(DJ Khaled) is a crazy talented individual. To bring all these artists together and to have them be able to maintain the egos and be like, ‘Yo, look, this is what we’re trying to get done here,’ he’s mastered it," he said.

Butler hopes to record around 200 tracks before choosing the songs that make the cut for his debut country album.