Entering the music industry scene, you’ll become a public figure to the public eye. Most enter the business not really knowing what to expect. All you know is that it comes with a certain lifestyle with lots of women/men, parties, drinking, touring, red carpets, meeting other celebs, money and more. This all sounds exciting until you realize the game invades your space and changes your reality for better or for worse. Often times, celebrities thrust into the fame, fortune and seemingly limitless access to beautiful women and fine men, and other temptations get caught up doing some DUMB SHIT.
During a recent virtual call, we got the scoop on Tyrese Gibson in his earlier career, fatherhood, his forthcoming projects and his newly released single Dumb Shit featuring Snoop Dogg. If you’re not a part of his 22.7 million Facebook followers or 1.2 billion people who view his social media pages monthly, you might wonder, well who is Tyrese and what has he done? I must say, the visions that this man creates and how he treats his team is unbelievable…in a good way. Tyrese isn’t just an all-around entertainer, he’s also a motivational, inspirational and truthful man. The conversation got really deep which might have been uncomfortable for some but for others it was confirmation that you too can succeed.
In Gibson’s earlier career, he was fresh to the scene, sexy, and might I add, one muscular heaven-sent angel enticing women to throw themselves at him. It all began when he was tapped to appear and sing in a Coca Cola commercial that ended up launching his music career. One opportune moment, Gibson graced the stage singing one of his hit songs, Sweet Lady, and caught the attention of John Singleton who introduced him to a different field of entertainment, acting. Tyrese was a little apprehensive about it obviously clueless to the fact that this venture would elevate his career to another level of success landing him major roles and expanding his creativity. Addicted to creativity, his expansion allowed him to become the founder of a charitable foundation called “The Love Circle”. Through this foundation, instead of giving money he gives something more powerful, motivation and love. Nothing is more meaningful than having insight and information that will help mold and shape your career into what you’ve always dreamed it could be. Tyrese had a vision for his life and made every idea and goal his reality by having an open mind and not allowing what he had in his bank account to determine where his career would lead him.
As his career progressed, opportunities continued to flood in for Gibson, and it only made things more exciting. Singing eventually faded in his mind as a career path for him as he feels strongly it’s essential to recognize when one has reached his peak. So, Tyrese recently created a vision that he calls the “Black Rose Universe” which developed from relatable difficulties and also a heavy conscience. The process of the Black Rose Universe began in Arizona where he rented a house for himself and his team of nineteen singers, song writers and producers for what he calls an R&B boot camp. They created 134 original songs in 34 days. During this time, his last solo album, Black Rose, a double album of twenty songs (one side R&B and the other side hip hop with him rapping as his alter ego Black Ty) was created. Without giving away too much, Tyrese lets us know that some of the most influential individuals in the industry will be featured on the album including Jennifer Hudson, Tank, Chrisette Michele, The Game, Snoop Dogg and a strong possibility of a collaboration with Stevie Wonder.
While exploring the depths of his conscience, Tyrese produced, alongside Seige Monstracity and Marcus Hodge, a song that became his first hit single off of Black Rose entitled Dumb Shit. Dumb Shit was Gibson’s way of letting himself and everyone know that he’s done some dumb shit, and it’s time for his truth to be told no matter the extent of pain or embarrassment it may bring him. Likening it to Usher’s Confessions album, Tyrese declares Black Rose will be the most truthful album that he has ever created. With the buzz of Dumb Shit burning the radio airwaves, Tyrese is gearing up for his second single Shame and its extraordinary presentation as a short film directed by Paul Hunter and featuring Oscar award winning actress and Grammy award winning singer, Jennifer Hudson.
On behalf of Gumbumper.com, Derrian asked Tyrese some questions that will give you guidance in developing a career path in the music and entertainment industries.
If an up and coming director needed you to play a role in their movie, would you take on the role to allow their career to grow because of your relevance?
Listen, all I do is collaborate with people that are “irrelevant”. If you believe in someone or something, or you believe that you have a vision or idea, you move on it. You don’t just say well where’s your resume, what’s your background, and what have you accomplished lately that allows you to be on my level to work with me. That’s condescending and fucked up. I don’t move that way so if you look at my Open Invitation album, there’s a producer by the name of Brandon Alexander AKA BAM. No one has ever heard of him. No one knows who the hell he is. He’s an unknown producer who ended up producing my entire album and giving me my first number one single with my song called Stay. Now everybody’s looking at him, and he’s getting like 75 placements a year working on everybody’s album. You know, you’re able to mold and shape and develop a lot of genius, talented, creative people who are just looking for an opportunity to get on. So who’s the next Timbaland? Who’s the next Ginuwine? Who’s the next Missy Elliott? Who’s the next Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis? They’re just waiting on somebody to say “hey, look man I ain’t got shit in my bank account, but I’m talented and I’ll give you everything I have.”
How would you direct an upcoming actor who’s eager to get their career lifted off the ground to get in touch with the right person that would skyrocket their career as in the person who gave you an opportunity?
Well, John Singleton was the person who gave me an opportunity. He actually had to force me to do movies because I wasn’t interested. You know? Here I am singing Sweet Lady and Lately and touring and getting all these women that I never thought I’d have access to and making money, being on stage with muscles and shit, women screaming and all that energy. And he’s just like “Yo, I gotta get you in a movie.” And I’m like, “John, if you don’t get the hell away from me.” And he’s like, “I got this movie called Baby Boy. Tupac just died. I wrote it for Pac. I want you to do it.” I’m like, “What? Huh? And so, you know, we ended up doing Baby Boy and that changed my life forever. But, I would say just in general there’s a website called IMDB which stands for internet movie database. Anybody who walks up to you and claims to be a producer, writer, director and connected to this and that, just look them up and make sure that you’re dealing with people that are real and authentic. And I just think talented people who have great energy and that are like minded are the people that end up doing great things that are effective. So, it doesn’t matter if you’re considered relevant or irrelevant. Dealing with somebody who’s talented and yall are like-minded, you’re always going to be able to do great things. It doesn’t matter what’s in your bank account.
What philosophers have you followed to maintain a steady career and relevance?
Well, I don’t really know if they’re considered philosophers, but I mean you know my cousin Baby Nook Nook. (LOL) I’m just playing. I just have a lot of different people I look up to, and I look up to a lot of people for a lot of different reasons. I think I’m addicted to creativity, so anybody that’s creative and figures out a way to decode life and music and movies and anything that has to do with creativity, I just love creative negotiators. I’m attracted to lawyers. I got lawyers where I’m just like I just love you because I just love the way their minds work. When they’re negotiating a deal and creating these new things that they can do and ask for and how they’re gonna go about it. Man, I be getting fired up like I just recorded a hit song or something. I just love business men and women, politicians, or anybody that’s doing something significant and creative. I’m always rooting for them, but Michael Jordan says “You can’t get points today for yesterday’s game.” If you won MVP last week, that shit over. What are you going to do this week? So, while everybody is looking at me and reminding me of all the things I’ve already accomplished, I’m really focused on what’s on the way and the world has no idea how much shit I’m about to unleash on them. They have no idea and what’s scary is everything that I’m doing right now I got so many more thoughts that I can’t even afford.
Here is the Behind the Scenes look into the making of the Dumb Shit video produced by Tyrese’s own record company, Voltron Recordz, along with Happy Place, Tara Razavi. (Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg, French Montana, and R.Kelly are seen making history with Tyrese on his day)
“Dumb Shit”- Behind The Scenes
Tyrese’s creative visions don’t stop there. As components of the Black Rose Universe, he also has a documentary entitled Black Rose, an audio book also entitled Black Rose with Black Rose instrumentals playing in the background then he has two books that are New York Times best-sellers, “How to Get Out of Your Own Way” and “Manology” with Rev Run, and also his new movies Furious 7, Desert Eagle and Ride Along 2. You can get an extended look of his latest movie Furious 7 here:
Tyrese’s career has been an amazing transition from a teenager singing in a Coca Cola commercial to a young man that couldn’t leave his mama in his first featured film, Baby Boy, to a grown ass man that conducts business and moves effortlessly all while being an amazing father winning 50/50 custody of his beautiful seven year-old daughter, Shayla. I can’t wait to see what other ventures Gibson takes on because I’ll be here ready to create yet another story about a phenomenal man.
Stay in the loop with Tyrese Gibson as he updates his social sites regularly here:
Credit: Derrian Hudson –Intern/Junior Correspondent to Gumbumper Correspondent La Tasha K Mason @Tash1216 who co-wrote and edited this piece.