Tyrese Slams Mainstream Radio Over ‘Shame,’ Discusses Racial Issue
In a recent interview, singer Tyrese opened up about his overall frustration with mainstream radio.
Tyrese – White Radio is Racist… They Won’t Play My Song! http://t.co/YAxEjryTDm
— TMZ (@TMZ) July 28, 2015
TMZ released footage of the Shame singer discussing how disappointed he was with mainstream radio for not playing his chart-topping single on the air.
“I got an issue with mainstream radio right now. I don’t create limits for myself, so I don’t appreciate mainstream not playing my song. We got the #1 song in the country on Billboard.”
During the interview, Tyrese did not hesitate to bring up the racial issue – addressing how white artists that sing R&B and soul songs are treated by mainstream radio in comparison to him.
“When I think about Sam Smith, Robin Thicke, Justin Timberlake…when they’re singing R&B/Soul, their songs are being played on all formats of radio – including Urban radio. We don’t say, ‘Because they’re white, they can only be played on the white stations.’ If I’m #1 R&B with ‘Shame’ featuring Jennifer Hudson, my song deserves to be heard by the world. You can’t expect me to sell albums when you’re limiting my reach. Period.”
He even went as far as saying that if Sam Smith, Robin Thicke or Justin Timberlake sang Shame instead of him, “it’d be played on all formats of radio around the world.” As far as he’s concerned, “that’s not right.”
Tyrese also named specific people that he reached out to about playing his song that have not responded to him – including Ryan Seacrest and Elvis Duran from Z100.
The 36-year-old singer decided to release his final solo album, “Black Rose,” independently through his own label, Voltron Recordz. The Furious 7 actor has worked hard to find creative ways to promote his album via social media.
Tyrese used a passed out homeless lady to promote his album; says she’s “sleeping on R&B” http://t.co/NejVn3B4PF pic.twitter.com/POZKEgYfJL — Noisey (@NoiseyMusic) July 13, 2015
Tyrese on the subway https://t.co/Y07Pvc5DO9 lol
— RAVEN (@imodeljustice) July 26, 2015
His 27 million Facebook fans, 3.2 million Twitter followers and 4.4 million Instagram followers have undoubtedly played a major role in the popularity of his album so far. He has even received a lot of promotional support from fellow celebrities and singers.
Will Smith challenged @Tyrese to jump into a pool wearing winter clothes. And he did it: http://t.co/IsyTLTYfpC pic.twitter.com/1uXhxRBOYL — VibeMagazine (@VibeMagazine) July 20, 2015
As of Tuesday, according to the Billboard website, Shame is #1 on the “Adult R&B” chart. “Black Rose”, the final solo album for Tyrese, still holds the #1 spot on the “R&B Albums” chart.
[Photo By Charley Gallay/Getty Images]
