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Idris Elba is best known as an all-around actor from London who has starred in The Wire, Luther, American Gangster, and The Jungle Book (( “Idris Elba.” Wikipedia. November 5, 2020. )) His overall career, however, is well-rounded in forms of talent. He is also a DJ, producer, rapper, and singer.
Idris may seem like somewhat of an underground artist just having fun in the game, but he knows what he’s doing. In reality, Idris has been mixing and producing music before many of us festival-trekkers were even born. He has DJ’d all over the world, from Atlanta and New York to Glastonbury and Ibiza. We’ve put together a playlist to show you four of our favorites, many of his most intoxicating tracks.
Dawn Of Idris Elba’s Genius
Elba first began DJ’ing for his uncle’s DJ service at fourteen. One year later, Idris and his friends started their own DJ business. In 1988, soon after he quit school, his acting career took off, and later in 1991, he began spinning at London nightclubs under the name DJ Big Driis. He has written and produced music for Jay-Z, and in 2019 he signed an exclusive music deal with Universal Music Publishing Group for his record label 7Wallace, which launched in 2015 and is also based in London (( “Idris Elba.” Wikipedia. November 5, 2020. )).
“It’s a gift and a curse,” Idris tells Mixmag while discussing how his celebrity status affects his musical ambitions. “I remember thinking back in the day; I should have a DJ name, so people don’t know who I am and live off the talent. But it just felt like a lot of work to do that and pretend that I’m DJ X when I’m really just Idris. People can either take it or leave it, but I’ve been on the circuit, especially in Europe, for a good seven years now, and I’ve just gone as Idris. So you know, there was a lot of skepticism in the early days: from promoters, DJs, and even clubbers. But once they caught my vibe, I just slowly knocked on doors, and those doors have started to open up.”
–Idris Elba (( Holbrook, Cameron. “Idris Elba: The Musical Part Of My Life Is Really Liberating At The Moment.” Mixmag. May 17, 2019. November 5, 2020. ))
Aurally Pleasing
Idris features many up and coming artists, like Kah-Lo on “Ballie” and MAI LAN on “Sweat.” His deep entrancing voice can really capture the audience and create a strong undertone throughout some of his songs. The world premiere of “Ballie” was at Coachella in 2019, which was a festival he’d dreamed of playing. With the lyric “This is the hottest DJ in the world right now” and a melodic and echoed bass and beat, this song is definitely an ear-catcher with its dance rhythm. “Sweat” is another one of our top favorites, in which his talents, creativity, and dance-music skills really shine.
“Bong Ballie is slang for Everything Everything is Good. Kah-Lo and I wanted to fuse hip hop and house and she was so easy to work with. I played this tune out for the first time at Coachella and it went off… I knew I had to put it out immediately.”
– Idris Elba (( “Idris Elba Releases Collaboration With Kah-Lo ‘Ballie’ After World Premiere At Coachella.” 7wmusic.com. April 26, 2019. November 5, 2020. ))
How We Discovered Idris Elba’s Music Career
It seems like he starts from scratch every time, yet every time it’s such an amazing dance classic, we are surprised most of us only know him from television and movies. What caught our eye, and how we discovered him as a musician, was the Netflix show Turn Up Charlie. The comedy/drama series is about a dysfunctional family and Idris’s character as a nanny/DJ. The series can be a little slow at first, but it really is a must-see. It’s the melding of the two of his fantastic worlds.
Stream His Live Performances
You can find Idris’ music on all platforms including Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Soundcloud, but most importantly, watching live-streams of his sets on Youtube is the way to go. We can guarantee you’ll be dancing.
