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Music

‘Get Out’ Star Daniel Kaluuya Still Makes Time for Shouting Out British Music

He's into Stormzy, J Hus, Giggs and more—and in the middle of a Samuel L Jackson-led bit of drama.
Lauren O'Neill
London, GB

Daniel Kaluuya is a busy guy right now. He's spent some time defending himself against criticism from Samuel L Jackson about taking the lead role in the breakout hit movie Get Out – the criticism being that Kaluuya, a Brit, may not have been the best person to embody the film's depiction of the African-American experience. He's also been receiving plaudits for that role from pretty much everyone else. And in a recent interview with GQ, he took some time to shout out the UK musicians he's been listening to – and our resident UK adoptee for the timebeing, Childish Gambino.

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"I'm listening to Stormzy's new album," he said. "J-Hus is amazing, Giggs is tough. Childish Gambino's new album is hard. Raleigh Ritchie, a lot of UK music. I think it's a really exciting place right now. Donae'O has a song, 'Black,' with JME and Dizzee Rascal that's an anthem."

It's significant that in the time of our overlords Ed Sheeran and Adele, Kaluuya's taking the opportunity to shout out black British artists, and using his platform to show that we're not only churning out middle-of-the-road aural cardboard and sung-from-the-belly pop soul. His outspokenness is also important in the context of Kaluuya's role in Get Out, in which he plays a photographer who discovers the truth about his white girlfriend's seemingly amenable family. As race is so foregrounded in the film, he's become a vocal spokesperson on issues around blackness, and it seems as though figures in UK music are returning the love – Stormzy, Krept and Konan, MNEK and Radio 1's Clara Amfo were spotted at a London screening of the film last night:

As he's a man of such taste, Daniel can take this as our formal request for him to put together our next party playlist. We're ready and waiting.

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(Image via Daniel Kaluuya on Twitter)