If you scan YouTube looking for Bradley Wright-Phillips, you’ll find numerous goal compilations, a few interviews and, eventually, an excerpt from the grime mixtape series Lord of the Mics, in which he battles fellow footballer Yannick Bolasie.

“I’m a retired MC” says the New York Red Bulls striker, laughing at the mention of the tape. “As an inner-city kid, it’s part of the culture. I grew up listening to it ... It’s great to see people making money off it today. When I was growing up, people were bootlegging out the backs of cars. I love it as much as I love football.”

If his skill as an MC is equal to his abilities as a footballer, Wright-Phillips may want to reconsider that retirement. Just over halfway into the 2018 Major League Soccer season, the New York Red Bulls striker has once again placed himself amongst the league’s best players. His 11 goals this season put him second second in the league’s golden boot race, alongside someone called Zlatan Ibrahimovic. It’s an award Wright-Phillips has already won twice and his goals have helped his team to third in the Eastern Conference, eight points behind leaders Atlanta United with three games in hand.

Since his MLS debut, Wright-Phillips has bagged 115 goals in all competitions and 97 during the regular season. There are only 11 players in MLS’s 100-goal club and he’s on pace to reach the mark in the fewest games. Talking to the 33-year-old, however, you’d be excused for thinking that it’s all become rather routine. “I don’t keep track of that stuff. Maybe when I retire it will be something nice to look at and say that I did that. But I don’t keep track.”

His loyalty has endeared him to fans who come to see him play in Harrison, New Jersey, where his efficiency has earned him the nickname “BWP: the Ultimate Goal Scoring Machine”. His dominance of cross-river rivals New York City FC, against whom he’s notched 11 goals in 12 games, doesn’t hurt either. But Wright-Phillips is modest about even that extraordinary record: “I don’t approach it any different. Maybe it’s the excitement in the crowd.”

Wright-Phillips was a journeyman in England, bouncing between Championship and League One teams before settling into life in New York. To many Red Bulls fans, he was best known as the son of Ian Wright, or the brother of Shaun Wright-Phillips. Indeed, his arrival in MLS was met with skepticism by fans of a club that had previously signed the lesser-known brothers of Kaka (Digão) and Wayne Rooney (John Rooney) in what seemed little more than attempts to cash in on famous names. While Wright-Phillips didn’t feature much when he joined the club during the 2013 season, it didn’t take long for him to prove he was more than just Shaun’s brother.

Wright-Phillips was confident that he would make it work in New York, telling the Guardian that he knew “right away” the Red Bulls were the right club for him. That confidence carried into his play the next season. During his first full year with the Red Bulls in 2014, he made an immediate impact, scoring a MLS record-tying 27 goals. His then teammate Thierry Henry was impressed. The World Cup winner remarked at the time: “I keep on telling him: ‘You should already be on 35-40 goals.’ I’m not even joking.”

Wright-Phillips doesn’t seem to be slowing down as he enters his fifth full season in the league. This year he’s added to his game by pairing lethal scoring with five assists, two off his highest ever mark for a season. His ability to improve his game this far into his career is emblematic of the hard-working attitude that makes Wright-Phillips so successful in MLS. “I always wanted to score goals, but sometimes I’ve scored and been terrible and other times I felt I played well and didn’t score.” Wright-Phillips says, reflecting on his improved passing. “I looked at the statsheet the season where I scored 27 goals and I had one assist and was frustrated.”

Wright-Phillips has won plaudits from the media and his opponents. But it is those who play and work alongside him who offer the most praise. Jesse Marsch, who coached Wright-Phillips at New York until a recent move to RB Leipzig, has been effusive in his praise. “He’s amazing the way he runs and works for the team,” said Marsch. “He’s amazing his mentality and commitment to being a leader to do everything that could ever be asked of him.”

Wright-Phillips, in response, credits Marsch for his help: “Jesse’s great. His man to man skills are very good. He treats you like an adult. In England, your manager is like a boss.”

Despite his passion for scoring goals, it is when Wright-Phillips talks about fashion that he truly lights up. His recently launched fashion line Two Nines (named after his kit number, 99) is clearly close to his heart. “I always liked fashion. I like to dress up on days off – the weekend and go out – I have a friend that worked in a hat shop in Soho, and he came to me and asked me to design a logo and a hat. I did and I showed it to him and he loved it. After that we sat down with my wife, Leann, and decided to go for it.”

Clearly comfortable in New York and the possibilities it’s offered him, Wright-Phillips is currently the second-longest tenured player for the Red Bulls, behind keeper Luis Robles. During his time, he’s developed simple advice for players coming to MLS from abroad, “[I warn them about] the weather and travel. Other than that, football is football.”

Even with his leadership ability and that characteristically sensible advice in mind, it’s hard to imagine another player like Bradley Wright-Phillips in MLS.