Idris Elba has said that he is planning on “leaning away from the acting work” to focus more on his music in the coming years.

The Luther and The Wire actor founded the record label 7Wallace in 2015, while he regularly performs DJ sets (including a slot at Coachella in 2019) and has released a host of solo and collaborative records in recent years.

• READ MORE: Friends Like These: Rising rapper Che Lingo talks life and music with his label boss Idris Elba

Speaking in a new interview with Vanity Fair, Elba said that he hopes people will embrace his music as much as his acting work.

“Some may think, ‘Well, it will be the death of your acting if your music’s shit’,” he said. “I’ve dealt with the internal struggle of that over the years. So now I’m at peace and I’ve chosen: This is what I’m doing, and I’m going to do it. Some will love it and some will hate it.”

Elba, who has long been rumoured as a candidate for the role of James Bond, added that he is now planning on “leaning away from the acting work” over the coming years to focus more on music.

“The thing about making music is it’s a very consuming process,” he added. “It’s very difficult to shoot a movie and then go off into the studio or make a song. It’s like trying to build a soufflé while making a brick wall.”

Speaking with Che Lingo – who is signed to Elba’s 7Wallace – for NME‘s Friends Like These series in 2020, Elba said that he was “really coming to terms with being called a musician, if I’m honest”.

“What motivates me is the pure and unadulterated love for music,” he continued. “I love my relationship with sonics because I really listen and feel music. I listen to every component of every song. It’s a gift that keeps giving.”

Elba continued: “I’m an actor so I typically say other peoples’ words, live the imagination of someone else and turn them into a character.

“When I’m making music or I’m part of a project, that comes from me – it’s not someone else’s thing that’s applied to me. I love words and I love storytelling. That’s the bond of peace between everyone.”

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