Mi Mandela

Album: Mi Mandela (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the title track of Mi Mandela, an 11-song record inspired by Idris Elba's experience playing the South African anti-Apartheid leader Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.‎The actor has also released music under the name Dris as well as directing and appearing in the video for Mumford & Sons' "Lover of the Light."
  • The album celebrates South African music and also pays homage to the actor's late father, Winston Elba, as well as Nelson Mandela. "South Africa has numerous different tribes and each one has a musical expression, and each one has a very unique, different sound style," said Elba. "At the time I had my studio at the apartment I was staying in while I was making Mandela - a little keyboard, a laptop - and as an experiment to myself, I vowed to keep making music."
  • The song is a half-sung account of Elba recording a video message for the real Mandela during the filming of his biopic - only for the South African leader to have no idea who he was when he watched the clip.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Keith Reid of Procol Harum

Keith Reid of Procol HarumSongwriter Interviews

As Procol Harum's lyricist, Keith wrote the words to "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." We delve into that song and find out how you can form a band when you don't sing or play an instrument.

Yacht Rock Quiz

Yacht Rock QuizFact or Fiction

Christopher Cross with Deep Purple? Kenny Loggins in Caddyshack? A Fact or Fiction all about yacht rock and those who made it.

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."

Victoria Williams

Victoria WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

Despite appearances on Carson, Leno and a Pennebaker film, Williams remains a hidden treasure.

David Gray

David GraySongwriter Interviews

David Gray explains the significance of the word "Babylon," and talks about how songs are a form of active imagination, with lyrics that reveal what's inside us.

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.