I have to admit I have a crush on Idris Elba, no doubt along with millions of other folks on this planet.  Anyhow I rate him as an actor, he is brilliant as Stringer Bell, the business minded drug dealer in The Wire.  He is also kick ass in Luther where he’s a troubled but gifted cop playing by his own rules.    It did go all darkly macabre in the third season but the interplay between him and Ruth Wilson as Alice, a woman who killed her parents was binge viewing heaven. He’s often floated as a successor to Daniel Craig‘s James Bond and I’d go with that.  According to a good friend he maintains close links with the primary school he went to in Hackney, London, cementing his reputation as a good guy.

He’s also a music freak and started DJ’ing (DJ Driis) when he was fourteen.  His first album entitled mi Mandela, released back in November of last year is a tribute to Nelson Mandela (whom he played in Nelson Mandela : Long Walk To Freedom) and his father Winston.  The album was recorded in Africa and London with a varied cast of musicians including James Blake, Mumford & Sons and the veteran singers Mahotella Queens.  mi Mandela is a bit of a mash up with African styles sitting next to British with a flow of soul, house and a smattering of hip hop thrown in there too.  It’s well worth a listen.

Here’s first track off the album Aero Mathata a fast paced African house romp with the Mahotella Queens.

Notes : Idris Elba main image : Twitter : Idris Elba : Grazia France