Nothembi Jam

Album: Mi Mandela (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This sparse, plaintive tune is a track from Mi Mandela, an album inspired by Idris Elbas's experience playing the South African anti-Apartheid leader Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.‎ The song is titled after South African artist Nothembi Mkhwebane, who contributed towards the tune.
  • The track features James Blake on the guitar. Elba hooked up with the electronic music singer-songwriter after running into him at a Brixton, London café. The actor told Spin magazine: "I was directing a video for an artist D'Banj, he's a Nigerian rapper. I was in Brixton shooting that, having lunch at this place, and this kid came up and sat next to me and he goes, 'Idris, I'm James.' And I'm, 'Hello, man. I didn't recognize you, you're James Blake.' We know mutual friends."

    "We sat there talking, and I told him what I was doing and he goes, 'Oh man, I'd love to hear it.' So I sent him a couple of jams when I was mixing songs," Elba continued. "He came down to studio to mess around with one of these tracks and the one he ended up on he came into the studio and plugged in the Rhodes and started playing. He didn't want to sing, he just wanted to get on it."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.

Howard Jones

Howard JonesSongwriter Interviews

Howard explains his positive songwriting method and how uplifting songs can carry a deeper message.

Matthew Wilder - "Break My Stride"

Matthew Wilder - "Break My Stride"They're Playing My Song

Wilder's hit "Break My Stride" had an unlikely inspiration: a famous record mogul who rejected it.

Yacht Rock!

Yacht Rock!Song Writing

A scholarly analysis of yacht rock favorites ("Steal Away," "Baker Street"...) with a member of the leading YR cover band.

Charlotte Caffey of The Go-Go's

Charlotte Caffey of The Go-Go'sSongwriter Interviews

Charlotte was established in the LA punk scene when a freaky girl named Belinda approached her wearing a garbage bag.

Strange Magnetics

Strange MagneticsSong Writing

How Bing Crosby, Les Paul, a US Army Signal Corps Officer, and the Nazis helped shape rock and Roll.