Idris Elba is ready to give fans a taste of his more melodious side. The actor who is known for paying the gritty and conflicted cop on BBC’s crime drama, Luther will parlay those skills into a music project in the form of an upcoming album.
Elba delved into the specifics during a segment on BBC radio 4’s Front Row. “Detectives carry a lot of stuff. They meet someone who’s done something heinous, but they have to have an objective perspective on them until proven.” “That could create some really good songs… and definitely an interesting mood, musically”.
Sounds like Elba is going to be assimilating the traits from his popular character into a pretty ambitious playlist. The working title for the album, Murder Loves John is inspired by Elba’s layered view of his complex character, “I’d like to dissect the idea of someone who has to deal with so much darkness”.
Despite garnering industry respect as an actor, Elba is also quite musically inclined – with consistent stints as a rapper, DJ and music producer. He has collaborated with the likes of Estelle and Musiq Soulchild. He also moonlights under the name – Driis.
He seems to have a habit of setting his acting roles to music – he just recently completed Mi Mandela, an ode to his experience playing the late activist and freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela and making the film, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom in South Africa.