British actor Idris Elba announced on Tuesday that he was launching record label 7Wallace Music.
Though he is best known as drug trafficker Stringer Bell in “The Wire”, the titular character in BBC series “Luther”, and recently seen in the “Thor” and Marvel Avengers movies, Elba is also a hip hop and soul musician, and a DJ (as DJ Big Driis or Big Driis the Londoner. He has previously collaborated with the likes of Pharoahe Monch, Mr Hudson, and Mumford and Songs.
James BKS is a French artist whose family is from Cameroon. His single “Kwlele”, which draws on the traditions of the Kwele ethnic group of Gabon, Republic of Congo, and Cameroon, will be released on July 13. With a mix of pop, hip hop, and African musical elements, it features collaborations with Dibango and Allan Kingdom.
“James is a rare find,” Elba told Billboard. “His hip-hop sensibilities transfer to the other music he makes, he’s a nice person to work with and is gonna be a strong artist in the future. It’s a huge move for 7Wallace, a small indie label.”
Elba will make his directorial debut with an adaptation of the 1992 novel “Yardie”, releasing August 24. Until then, fans can catch him DJing in Brooklyn, New Orleans and the UK through July and August 2018.
