Idris Elba’s past musical career is no secret, but the A-list Hollywood star has only recently been able to highlight that side of himself. His Netflix series Turn Up Charlie features him as an aspiring DJ — a semi-autobiographical touch from early in Elba’s career — and now, his 2018 directorial debut Yardie has a mixtape that will allow him to really shine as a musician alongside some standout, underground names in reggae and dub. The first release from Yardie‘s upcoming musical companion is Newham Generals’ “King Fox,” so named for the gangster character from the film. Check it out above.
Elba will feature on the mixtape on two tracks, “Stand By Me” and its remix, while the remainder of the tape’s roster will include Breakage, Cadenza, Kouslin, Kranium, Mala, Newham Generals, Toddla T, and Zed Bias. Of the tape, Elba said: “Making a film as director allowed me, for the first time, to influence the music, in this case reggae. So this mixtape is the aftershock of Yardie, a collection of tunes that extends my love affair with the film. It was a true collaboration and everyone on the tape could relate to Yardie.”
Idris Elba Presents: The Yardie Mixtape will come out on Elba’s own 7Wallace imprint on June 21.
