*Tyrese Gibson has scored his first No.1 album on the Billboard 200 chart with his latest, and final, solo offering “Black Rose.” The album sold 83,000 copies its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Despite not having a major label backing him, Gibson’s indie route proves R&B music is still viable, though, in some cities, it just may be hard to find a hardcopy of it.
“I feel like (Black Rose) was under-shipped, because most of the retailers didn’t want to buy a bunch of albums and not have them sell,” Gibson, says. “People on my Instagram, Twitter and Facebook were saying, ‘Bro, I drove to four stores and they don’t even have a copy of your album.’ And I said, ‘Do you know what? This is exactly why I’m glad this album is winning, because hopefully, it’s going to re-spark this genre.’ “
USA Today reports that Gibson takes issue with how mainstream radio, which tends to favor pop and hip-hop acts, has not embraced his single “Shame” with Jennifer Hudson (it’s No. 2 on USA TODAY’s Urban Adult Contemporary airplay chart).
“I’m not a racist, I’m not using the race card and I’m not trying to create any type of negative energy toward (radio hosts) Ryan Seacrest or Elvis Duran specifically,” Gibson says. “I’m simply asking the question: If Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke and Sam Smith are singing R&B/soul music, how is it possible that they’re being played by Top 40, rhythmic and urban AC stations? Yet when we sing R&B/soul, it’s only being played on black radio? It’s not fair, it’s not right and I’m not having it.
Tyrese continued by calling out radio stations that support Black music, so as song as the artist ain’t black!
“I don’t have a problem with any of these artists, or the fact that they’re white and singing R&B/soul,” Gibson continues. But “are you telling me that if Robin Thicke sang Shame featuring Jennifer Hudson, they would be playing it? We can’t play that game. If I would’ve sung Sam Smith’s version of (Stay With Me) that has a full choir on the chorus, my song would’ve been played on urban AC radio and that’s it. It wouldn’t have went any further than that.”
Assistant program director Beata Murphy of KIIS FM, which airs On Air with Ryan Seacrest, said in a statement: “Pop radio pulls from all genres. … You can hear hip-hop and R&B artists like Wiz Khalifa, Omarion, The Weeknd, Fetty Wap and Silento, in addition to Nicki Minaj, John Legend and many more, on KIIS currently. We will continue to consider all artists for airplay.”
The decision to make “Black Rose” his last album was motivated by Gibson’s parental responsibilities to his eight-year-old daughter, Shayla.
“The truth is, you can’t be chasing a music career when you have 50/50 joint legal custody,” Gibson says. “I’ve turned down nine movies and four different TV shows, including Season 1 of Empire, because I was fighting for custody.”
Tyrese recently appeared on an episode of “The Boris and Nicole Show,” where they serenaded a lucky audience member with their sing-off of pick-up lines, after inhaling helium! Check out the clip below.
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