Slept On - Idris Elba aka Driis
www.theslepton.com
Idris Elba is a household name. We all know him as Stringer Bell. Aka John Luther. Aka Krall from Star Trek. Aka Mr. Cuff ya girl... and ya mom... and ya grandmom... while they high five each other. Aka the Black James Bond (whether he ever gets the movie role or not). Aka the Black Norse god (Heimdall) in Thor. So if he's a household name and sex symbol, how is he slept on? Lemme wake you up fam! Lord knows I needed the wake up call.
Last week I saw a trailer for a new show starring Idris Elba where apparently homie is training to be a kickboxer/MMA Fighter. It's not enough that the brotha is a handsome chap. It's not enough that he has a damn British accent, It's not enough that he has arguably one of the best TV shows in the past decade (Luther -- getcho ass on Netflix and watch it ASAP if you've been sleeping). It's not enough that he starred on one of the most iconic shows in the history of TV, The Wire. It's not enough that he's an A List celebrity starring in blockbuster movies. NOWWWWW he gotta be on TV whipping ass too?
Apparently he doesn't think about the rest of us mere mortals who are lucky enough to be good at one thing (if that!). This cornering the market ass dude wanna be great at numerous things. And I can't even be mad at him (I've tried) because I'm such a fan of his art. While discussing the trailer and semi-hating with a few Facebook friends, the homie DJ Ambush dropped a bombshell. He put a link to an Idris Elba track in my comments that made me hate and love homie even more. I heard Idris spent time as celebrity DJ for other celebrities but I had no idea dude made his own damn music under the name Driis or King Driis. I had no idea that homie sings. I had no idea that homie can actually sing! He's not Donny Hathaway vocally or anything, but he doesn't try to be. He stays in his pocket and he sounds great. Ambush unknowingly (or because he knows me, maybe it was knowingly) sent me on a mission to find more music from Driis. I had no idea he put out a project in 2010 that's actually DOPE. The production, the lyrics, the vocals, across the board. I had no idea homie can RAP too. Like, BARRRRRRRRS. Shoutout for Ambush for waking me up. Time for yall to stop sleeping too.
Perhaps my favorite track is the one Ambush sent me initially, THE BEST THAT I CAN. Dude takes a Frank Sinatra sample, then adds a dope ass R&B beat to it. This jawn is like a neo-soul version of Chico Debarge and Joe's jawn, NO GUARANTEE meets Robin Thicke's STUPID THINGS. And he's getting his 70s Motown beg on too.
Sidenote: Can we get more begging in R&B again. Like the breakdown at the end of I MISS YOU where dude spends 3 minutes of the song trying to get his woman back by telling her he's doing the best he can (see what I did there?) and got a job with overtime, and he's not gambling anymore or drinking because he wants to be the man for her?
EXTRAORDINARY LOVE sounds like he could be at The Black Lily with The Roots backing him. Like ?uestlove in the back on drums pretending not to be a legend and Black Thought doing adlibs spaced out and Hub chewing on a delicious stick while Floetry walks in all nonchalantly as Bilal is purchasing a dope ass agate chain from Amun Miraaj. Can't you just see that when you hear this jawn? Like Musiq is over in the cut writing songs trying to get India.Arie back but she moved on cause she loves herself enough to not put up with bullsh*t.
Sidenote, Driis has a track with Musiq that's fire too.
2 BLACK 2 STRONG - So he just gon' rap and be woke and shit on one track? The hook is a little JCole-ish in its basicness (J Cole's hooks are the J Cole of hooks), but the beat is busy and Driis gets busy in the booth. "The music's ageless, the words are page-less, and muthafuckas love my shit."
HOLD ON ft. Shadow is a track produced by 9th Wonder and it's just disrespectful. So homie gone rap with a patois accent? And It doesn't sound like when Aubre 1500 tried it on his latest non classic album? Like it doesn't sound like a pretend started from the bottom ass dude who doesn't know if he's from Toronto, Atlanta, Miami, Houston or Kingston? It doesn't sound like he dated Rihanna so he could record her parents accent and mimmick it on a boring 40 beat. It sounds natural af. And 9th Wonder is just silly for the beat. This is just too dope.
MURDAH LOVES JOHN ft. Wretch 32 & Tanika is like an epic track Rihanna and Jay Z would do with John Legend on the keys that Kanye would hate on at night while talking to Kim about how back in the day it would've been him and Rihanna on that track so he's lowkey insecure about his place in society so he calls Pusha T but it goes straight to voicemail so he burns his entire DVD collection of The Wire because Driis just triggered him with this dope ass track.
Sidenote: I love the theme to LUTHER, Massive Attack - Paradise Circus, but I wouldn't be mad if they switched it to this. Murdah Loves John Luther.
Idris, I hate you and love you at the same time. I keep criticizing you for not doing enough Luther episodes (I need to know what's up with Alice? Stop leaving us like this)., but if you're gonna put out quality music, take your time with the other shit. Seriously dude, box and bag people's mom's and what not. Make blockbuster movies and DJ for Madonna or U2 or whatever, but make more music. Rap. Sing. Create. It's appreciated. Oh, but don't start doing spoken word poetry. I swear if I see you on Button it's gonna be a problem.
Sidenote: No it wouldn't because it would probably be lit and I'd just have to hide in the corner of my feelings
www.theslepton.com
Idris Elba is a household name. We all know him as Stringer Bell. Aka John Luther. Aka Krall from Star Trek. Aka Mr. Cuff ya girl... and ya mom... and ya grandmom... while they high five each other. Aka the Black James Bond (whether he ever gets the movie role or not). Aka the Black Norse god (Heimdall) in Thor. So if he's a household name and sex symbol, how is he slept on? Lemme wake you up fam! Lord knows I needed the wake up call.
Last week I saw a trailer for a new show starring Idris Elba where apparently homie is training to be a kickboxer/MMA Fighter. It's not enough that the brotha is a handsome chap. It's not enough that he has a damn British accent, It's not enough that he has arguably one of the best TV shows in the past decade (Luther -- getcho ass on Netflix and watch it ASAP if you've been sleeping). It's not enough that he starred on one of the most iconic shows in the history of TV, The Wire. It's not enough that he's an A List celebrity starring in blockbuster movies. NOWWWWW he gotta be on TV whipping ass too?
Apparently he doesn't think about the rest of us mere mortals who are lucky enough to be good at one thing (if that!). This cornering the market ass dude wanna be great at numerous things. And I can't even be mad at him (I've tried) because I'm such a fan of his art. While discussing the trailer and semi-hating with a few Facebook friends, the homie DJ Ambush dropped a bombshell. He put a link to an Idris Elba track in my comments that made me hate and love homie even more. I heard Idris spent time as celebrity DJ for other celebrities but I had no idea dude made his own damn music under the name Driis or King Driis. I had no idea that homie sings. I had no idea that homie can actually sing! He's not Donny Hathaway vocally or anything, but he doesn't try to be. He stays in his pocket and he sounds great. Ambush unknowingly (or because he knows me, maybe it was knowingly) sent me on a mission to find more music from Driis. I had no idea he put out a project in 2010 that's actually DOPE. The production, the lyrics, the vocals, across the board. I had no idea homie can RAP too. Like, BARRRRRRRRS. Shoutout for Ambush for waking me up. Time for yall to stop sleeping too.
Perhaps my favorite track is the one Ambush sent me initially, THE BEST THAT I CAN. Dude takes a Frank Sinatra sample, then adds a dope ass R&B beat to it. This jawn is like a neo-soul version of Chico Debarge and Joe's jawn, NO GUARANTEE meets Robin Thicke's STUPID THINGS. And he's getting his 70s Motown beg on too.
Sidenote: Can we get more begging in R&B again. Like the breakdown at the end of I MISS YOU where dude spends 3 minutes of the song trying to get his woman back by telling her he's doing the best he can (see what I did there?) and got a job with overtime, and he's not gambling anymore or drinking because he wants to be the man for her?
EXTRAORDINARY LOVE sounds like he could be at The Black Lily with The Roots backing him. Like ?uestlove in the back on drums pretending not to be a legend and Black Thought doing adlibs spaced out and Hub chewing on a delicious stick while Floetry walks in all nonchalantly as Bilal is purchasing a dope ass agate chain from Amun Miraaj. Can't you just see that when you hear this jawn? Like Musiq is over in the cut writing songs trying to get India.Arie back but she moved on cause she loves herself enough to not put up with bullsh*t.
Sidenote, Driis has a track with Musiq that's fire too.
2 BLACK 2 STRONG - So he just gon' rap and be woke and shit on one track? The hook is a little JCole-ish in its basicness (J Cole's hooks are the J Cole of hooks), but the beat is busy and Driis gets busy in the booth. "The music's ageless, the words are page-less, and muthafuckas love my shit."
HOLD ON ft. Shadow is a track produced by 9th Wonder and it's just disrespectful. So homie gone rap with a patois accent? And It doesn't sound like when Aubre 1500 tried it on his latest non classic album? Like it doesn't sound like a pretend started from the bottom ass dude who doesn't know if he's from Toronto, Atlanta, Miami, Houston or Kingston? It doesn't sound like he dated Rihanna so he could record her parents accent and mimmick it on a boring 40 beat. It sounds natural af. And 9th Wonder is just silly for the beat. This is just too dope.
MURDAH LOVES JOHN ft. Wretch 32 & Tanika is like an epic track Rihanna and Jay Z would do with John Legend on the keys that Kanye would hate on at night while talking to Kim about how back in the day it would've been him and Rihanna on that track so he's lowkey insecure about his place in society so he calls Pusha T but it goes straight to voicemail so he burns his entire DVD collection of The Wire because Driis just triggered him with this dope ass track.
Sidenote: I love the theme to LUTHER, Massive Attack - Paradise Circus, but I wouldn't be mad if they switched it to this. Murdah Loves John Luther.
Idris, I hate you and love you at the same time. I keep criticizing you for not doing enough Luther episodes (I need to know what's up with Alice? Stop leaving us like this)., but if you're gonna put out quality music, take your time with the other shit. Seriously dude, box and bag people's mom's and what not. Make blockbuster movies and DJ for Madonna or U2 or whatever, but make more music. Rap. Sing. Create. It's appreciated. Oh, but don't start doing spoken word poetry. I swear if I see you on Button it's gonna be a problem.
Sidenote: No it wouldn't because it would probably be lit and I'd just have to hide in the corner of my feelings
