There’s good and bad news when it comes to actor/singer Tyrese. He’s got a new album out – that’s the good news. But he says its his last solo project – and that’s the bad news. If you’ve heard Black Rose’s powerful new single “Shame” you’ll be even more upset that Tyrese, who has made acting his main job these days, says he’s hanging up the mic for good.
“This is my last album so it’s been emotional,” Tyrese says. “I’m just in a different head space and I just got 50/50 custody of my baby [daughter Shayla]. Shout out to all the father determined to spend more time with their babies throughout the court system that doesn’t make it easy for us. Musically, the fans have been rocking with me since the beginning and ‘Black Rose’ is my gift. I was in a relationship for five years and that relationship ended. I was fighting for custody of my baby and my brother Paul Walker died and it all happened back to back. I had to dig deep to push out positive social media through my pain and I was the one in need of the most positivity and the most prayers.”
He combined his love for film and music in the video for “Shame” starring Jennifer Hudson and produced by Denzel Washington, where he plays an old-school R&B singers struggling with person demons including women and drugs.
Love Majic 102.3? Get more! Join the Majic 102.3 Newsletter
We care about your data. See our privacy policy.
“My song ‘Shame’ is my most personal song ever because I did some things to my girl that I was ashamed of,” says Tyrese. “The song is not for fake people who have never done anything that they are ashamed of. It’s just one of those real songs sand no disrespect to anyone or the songs they are singing and everyone is independent and I don’t need you and I can do bad for myself but the songs that break through now are the ones that are transparent and I am broken and I do want you to stay.”
Tyrese admits that infidelity played a role in the demise of his relationship and the creation of his song. As he says music is the only thing in his life that’s still pure, he wanted to get back into the studio.
His Black Rose album is the culmination of a month long boot camp in Paradise Valley, Arizona where singers and songwriters came through to help him get the project off the ground. Marsha Ambrosius, Rockwilder and others were part of the project, which resulted in 152 songs. Black Rose, however was whittled down to 14.
“If you’re a real R&B fan and you extra grown with yours and you’re really into an album that you can press play and let it go, it’s coming this Friday, July 10.”
Albums are now being released on Friday, Tyrese says, so look for Black Rose on Friday at your favorite online (or offline) retailer.
After the success of Furious 7 and the Fast and The Furious franchise, Tyrese has become an international star, though maybe not for the kind of role he planned on. He says he wants to return to the kinds of roles that first shaped him as an actor, like the role of Jody in the classic John Singleton film Baby Boy. But even as he waits for the right role, his stardom can create some obstacles. Even something as simple as an award show appearance can be misconstrued.
Some industry observers and fans were surprised to see Tyrese at The BET Award with his date, singer V. Bozeman. Bozeman is also from Watts and Tyrese is working with her, not sleeping with her, something he says she wanted to make clear before she agreed to be his date.
Bozeman was hesitant because she knew showing up on Tyrese’s arm would make her the subject of scrutiny and unwanted speculation. But Tyrese says they were both happy that they made a public statement about the diversity of beauty.
“I felt really good about the statement that we made. Black is beautiful,” Tyrese says. “A lot of women find themselves giving power to hair weaves and glue and all that stuff and she’s dark-skinned and doesn’t live up to any of the stereotypes people find themselves showing up to the red carpet with. I was very proud to make that statement. I’ve only dated Black women my whole life. I jumped out there one time, but my preference is my sisters.”
Tyrese says he’s “recently single” but he’s looking for wife.
“I just want to roll over to something consistent and real,” he says. “On this
Black Rose album I tell a story from beginning to end. This full album is my heart, it’s my baby. It’s like building a full house and then burning it down three times and then you’re still determined to build that house. You’re looking at that house with a different eye because it took so much to build it.”
Click the link above to hear the entire interview.
Black Rose Track Listing:
1. Addict
2. Dumb Shit feat. Snoop Dogg
3. Picture Perfect
4. Waiting on You
5. Shame
6. Don’t Wanna Look Back feat. Chrisette Michele
7. Prior to You feat. Tank
8. Leave9. Without My Heart
10. When We Make Love
11. Gonna Give You What You Need
12. Body Language
13. The Rest of Our Lives feat. Brandy
14. I Still Do
(Photo: PR Photos)
Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
