Idris Elba has launched his own record label

Idris Elba  may be best known for playing the near-genius murder detective in the British crime drama ‘Luther’, but he has been making subtle waves in the music industry for over a decade now thanks to his love for hip-hop and DJ-ing.

Now, he’s decided to take things one step further by setting up his own label, 7Wallace Music.

And the 45-year-old actor certainly isn’t taking his time with his new venture as he has already announced that he’s signed his first client, French artist James BKS.

Speaking to Billboard, Idris said: “James is a rare find. 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.”

James currently resides in Paris, France, but is no stranger to working with big names as he’s previously been guided by hip-hop producer Diddy in the US.

He will release his new single ‘Kwlele’, which features Dibango and Allan Kingdom, on July 13 and he has teased that the music is a blend of hip-hop, pop and African music as he wanted to pay tribute to his roots and share his “journey” with the world.

“I want people to get to know my journey,” Elba said. “The song is the musical answer to my inner questions. Finally I can be proud of my roots and say this music is fully me.”

Idris, on the other hand, is very busy with his acting career at the moment as it’s been speculated that he’s in the running to play the next James Bond.

However, his fiancee Sabrina Dhowre has revealed she would be loathed to see him replace Daniel Craig as the iconic secret agent in the franchise because she thinks it would mean she would have to do even more work around their home.

She said recently: “He supports gender equality but we don’t always share all the chores at home because he works so much.

“I can’t imagine what it would be like being married to the next James Bond but I’d imagine he’d be ten times as busy as he is now.”