Idris Elba

Many strings to his bow

He may be best-known for playing Stringer Bell in the hit US series The Wire, but for his latest project, Idris Elba is returning to his first love: music. The British actor, whose film credits include American Gangster and Obsessed, released the street track, Best I Can earlier this year, followed by the reggae-tinged new single, Please Be True, and received positive feedback from the critics for both tracks.

But far from fitting the mould of ‘actor-turned-singer’, Elba’s music credentials go way back. Having emerged as a DJ on the pirate radio scene in his earlier years, the London-born talent – whose music moniker is Driis – DJ’d in many clubs in London and New York, and went on to produce for the likes of Angie Stone and co-produce the intro on Jay-Z’s 2007 album, American Gangster.

Now stepping out as a fully fledged artist in his own right – with his album due for release next year – Driis spoke to FillingTheVoid.co.uk about his latest venture.

Are you nervous about making the transition into music as an artist?
It is a big step because I’ve been private with the music thing for such a long time. But at the same time, music has always been a way for me to express myself. I just decided that there’s no sense in killing something that wants to live. I love making music and people will either accept it or they won’t.

What can we expect from the album?
It’s gonna be a hybrid of all the stuff that we from Afro-Caribbean cultures have grown up on, from reggae to hip-hop to Drum & Bass and more.

With music sales on the decline, didn’t you consider sticking with acting, as it’s more bankable?
Nah, coz I’m not pushing my music for financial reasons. I’ve given a lot of my music away. But I think there’s still a desire for ownership amongst people that will make them buy something that they really want. Everybody is making music nowadays and a lot of it isn’t worth buying. But I think that if an artist makes an album that’s truly good, people will wanna buy it. If Lauryn Hill made an album today, yeah, people might download the first track or two, but I think they’d eventually be like, ‘I need this album – I’m gonna buy it.’ So in my own – maybe naive – way of thinking, that’s what I’m hoping for; that people will build up an appetite for my music and spend their money when it comes out.

You’ve had a number of glowing reviews of your music so far. That must be pretty gratifying.
Yeah, it is. I’m from the pirate radio scene so when I heard that DJs were playing my tune and really feeling it – without knowing that it was me behind the tune – that really made me feel like I’d come full circle. The scene that I’d come from was embracing my music – that made me feel like, ‘Wow’.

Is that more fulfilling than some of your Hollywood successes?
Totally. To be acknowledged by the scene that I’d come from was even better than being acknowledged by Tom Cruise. At the end of the day, he doesn’t know me from Adam!

Are you finding that the worlds of acting and music are emerging for you, or are they very separate?
They are emerging slowly, but really, I think the two worlds can exist, almost as separate identities. Jamie Foxx is Jamie Foxx in both his acting and his music. I think that doing it that way can either water down your music or your films. I want to be clear about what side of my personality I’m representing every time I put something out. People on the music side call me Driis and people on the film side call me Idris.

Are Idris and Driis very different?
Yeah. Idris Elba as an actor... I channel a different type of energy to bring that alive. If I’m making a film, I become that character. Driis can only be me. I can’t make music if I’m trying to be Jay-Z or Ludacris or anyone but myself. But if I, as Idris, were to make a film about Jay-Z, I could play Jay-Z, you know what I’m saying? That’s why I think people are often surprised when they hear my music. They’ve become so used to the characters I play that they hear my music and they’re like, ‘I wasn’t expecting that from you!’ But I like that. It’s nice to keep people guessing.