Tyrese (a.k.a. Black Ty): Two Sides To Every Story
Published: Friday - December 29, 2006
Words by Tyra Greene
Tyrese (Photo: J Records)
You know him as a successful R&B singer and accomplished actor, but is the world ready for Tyrese the rapper? Ready or not, Black Ty is in the building with a groundbreaking double CD, Alter Ego, which hopes to satisfy his R&B fanbase and create some hip-hop followers as well. He'll make a point to tell you that no one has ever put out an R&B and hip-hop album simultaneously, so yes, this is a big deal. And with appearances by Lil Jon, Snoop Dogg, and The Game to name a few, it's obvious that rap's heavy hitters are already believers.
Though this is a moment for hip-hop, there is much more to Black Ty than what we see on this new album. BallerStatus spoke with him recently about everything from issues with his record company, to family hardships, to his continuous grind of making movies, behind and in front of the camera. He has tackled so many arenas, including the mixtape scene with Ghetto Royalty that even though it seems odd to think of him as a rapper, something in the flow makes perfect sense. It's clear that he's come a long way from the young model in the Coca Cola commercial that the world first fell in love with.
BallerStatus.com: I read somewhere that you started singing at age 14. When did you start rapping?
Tyrese: That was more like 11, 12.
BallerStatus.com: What made you come out with a double album? It's pretty monumental that you have a rap album and an R&B album out at the same time. I don't think anyone has ever done that.
Tyrese: No, no one has ever done that and been able to pull it off. To be honest, you just gotta do what's in you. At the end of the day, my life can be taken tomorrow. People would be sad more so just cause I wasn't done living. So if it's in me and it's in my heart, I gotta do what I gotta do to make it happen. And I have loyalty to my R&B fan base. I would not want to come out with a hip-hop album only, and then come out with an R&B album afterwards. So I had to do both. I told Clive Davis, "it's a double album or it's nothing at all." Cause I don't need the money, if I wanted to make money I would keep making these movies.
BallerStatus.com: One of the things I noticed about the rap side of the album is that even though you're from LA, you don't sound like one specific genre when you're rapping...
Tyrese: I love you! I love you for that! Thank you.
BallerStatus.com: I think people will notice that. You don't sound strictly "West Coast" and then you do songs with down South rappers and you're able to sound like you're from the South. How are you able to do that?
Tyrese: Whatever the music tells me to do is what I do. If there's a record and the music represents pain, then I'm gonna talk about some painful sh--. If the music makes me want to dance, I'm gonna rhyme about dancing. I'm gonna do whatever the music tells me to do.
BallerStatus.com: What do you think your R&B fans will think about Black Ty?
Tyrese: I know how my R&B fans feel about Black Ty because I'm talking to one. So whatever you guys say is what goes.
BallerStatus.com: Who have been some of your biggest influences in the rap game?
Tyrese: I love Tupac, Jay-Z, Biggie, Eminem, Canibus, Game, 50 Cent, and it's not because they sell the most records either. I understand why they sell the most records. I feel all their lyrics, I feel their pain. They get gone up on the mic, their beats are crazy, they make you feel right. Let me paint a picture for you for a second. I just talked about this on TV the other day so I don't mind saying it again. My mother has been drinking for the last 23 years. I never told anybody about it, ever. So because of this record "Confessions of Me" featuring Kurupt, my momma heard that record and how I feel about what it did to my life. My momma went to rehab and has been in there for four months. That's the power of hip-hop to me. Why do we love Pac so much? Dude put his heart on the mic, he made you feel him as a man and what he stood for.
BallerStatus.com: Do you hope that one day you'll make that same impact on hip-hop (like Tupac)?
Tyrese: To be honest, I don't know what's gonna happen. All I did was put my heart on the mic. I am so confident in this album R&B and hip-hop wise. If this album fails, it will be an embarrassment to my entire record label.
BallerStatus.com: You said earlier that you told Clive Davis it was a double album or nothing. Was there hesitancy from the label for you to put this out?
Tyrese: A few people said this album would never see the light of day. So, you gotta understand, most people outside of the love and passion for the music are doing this to make a serious living. You can't make no real money like that compared to these movie checks. I know what real money is. I went after history. I won. I've made so many non-believers believe. When I get on the floor, I just feel so respected, as a man. They respect me as a man first and they believe in me as an artist. So it's like, yo, I'ma give this cat what he wants because he took a stance in what he believes in. I just want people to hear my sh--. If two people show up to my concert, love me... because I gave you my best.
BallerStatus.com: You have obviously been so successful at everything from modeling to singing to acting and now rapping. Is there anything left in life that you haven't accomplished yet?
Tyrese: I write movies. I wrote a movie called "Extortion" and one called "To Each His Own," and I sold them all to major studios. We're currently developing about 19 different projects that I'm producing with my film company. But at the end of the day... you know, we just lost Gerald Levert, he was 40 years old, I'm 27. There are NBA players and college football and basketball players out there just dying cause they're over-working themselves, or whatever the case may be. Tomorrow is not a guarantee. So if you have access to somebody or something that can grow you as an individual... if you don't take advantage of it, it's on you. You gotta get out of your own way. And that's what I try my best to do. I would rather not be aware of what I could be doing than to be aware and not step up to the plate to make the sh-- happen. People say, "you do so much." It's because something might happen. A plane could go down, anything. What's gonna be your story if you go? You know, he did one thing and he did it well... eh, nah. When I went from singing to acting they told me to leave the sh-- alone, especially with a movie like "Baby Boy" because it was some hood sh--. And now it's a classic. And now I'm ten movies in the game and some of the fans are like, "Man, why don't you stick to singing and acting?" You didn't believe I should act at first. Now you run to see all my movies. So Black Ty is here to stay, I'm not going nowhere.
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