How Tyrese changed his game - Actor, Model, Sex Symbol, Singer

Ebony, April, 2003 by Marsha Gilbert

IN the Secrets nightclub just outside Chicago, screaming women call out and reach for singer/model/actor Tyrese, who ignites the crowd by singing his ballad, "Sweet Lady," and by leading the women in a chant, "I want to go home with you, Tyrese." As the frenzy grows, he gives out his cell phone number, saying, "The first woman to get through can come on stage." Then he adds: "Do you want me to come closer?"

"Yes!" they scream, and he jumps offstage and lands on his back in a sea of arms at the performance for women only. The scene turns into a tug-of-war between screaming, clutching women and the club's security team, with security trying to pull Tyrese back to safety and the women trying to pull him to a different place. In the melee, one woman helps herself to one of his pierced, diamond earrings, which she later returned for a hug.

This libido-charged scene, which ended when the women ripped Tyrese's T-shirt to shreds and inflicted scratches and other close-contact damage, is one of several recent events that have moved Tyrese into a new orbit of stardom. One of these events was the release of his new CD, I Wanna Go There, which sold almost 250,000 copies in the first month, and which he is promoting in a series of personal appearances at Secrets and other nightclubs. Another was his surprise selection to replace action star Vin Diesel, who won't appear in the soon-to-be released Fast and Furious 2. The movie gives him a chance to work again with John Singleton, who directed him in Baby Boy, and who recommended him for the role.

In Fast and Furious 2, Tyrese plays an ex-con who is totally different from the brooding character that was projected for Vin Diesel. He told EBONY that he is no con artist, but that the character reflects a lot of his personality. "Smiling, joking, getting gangsta sometimes if necessary, and being easily irritated by women who disrespect him, is all of me," he says.

Although Tyrese replaced Vin Diesel and although the setting of the movie moved from Los Angeles to Miami, Fast and Furious 2 will still be a movie of souped-up cars and street races. Tyrese drives a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spider that was custom-made for his character. He liked the car so much that he had a replica made to keep at his home, which sits on 12 acres, just outside L.A. He says that since his motorcycle crash last spring, he is more into cars than motorcycles. He still has scars on his arms and shudders at the memory of his three-week stay in the hospital.

Whether the 24-year-old is acting in movies, posing for GUESS? ads or singing explicit lyrics, he projects an aura of sexuality. Some critics say he goes too fro, but he says that sex appeal is the name of the game. Acting, singing and modeling, he says, "are all pretty similar. For each one of the gigs, you have to show up and be as pretty as possible. Each one is looking for you to bring your own energy to it. I work hard at making sure I remain myself."

Although his half-naked posters decorate the rooms of thousands of females, and although he specializes in singing about love and sexuality, the man who was named "sexiest R&B singer of 2000" says surprisingly that he doesn't have a steady girlfriend. Not because of lack of opportunity, but because of the pressure of life in the fast and lane. "I'm very single with no kids or abortions told EBONY in an exclusive interview in his hotel suite. "I'm married to my career. I'm a fan of hard work right now. I have such an appreciation for relationships. It's really hard for me to get into it because a relationship becomes a responsibility."

One thing he does make time for is staying in picture-perfect shape. He works out three days a week and schedules sessions with a trainer before every photo shoot. He doesn't have a particular diet and doesn't weigh himself, but considers himself a light eater. Tyrese is a triple-threat artist who can sing, act and model, but singing is his No. 1 passion. He started singing at the age of 14 in Roy Rogers Park in Watts, where he grew up. A neighbor invited him over to sing for her cousins. "From their reaction," he says, "I said to myself, `This is something I need to look into.' I started recording on tapes in the bathroom for reverb. Singing became my heart."

The former MTV Jams host went on to make a name for himself as the teenager singing on the bus in the 1995 Coca-Cola ad campaign. He decided to try acting after seeing Denzel Washington perform in the movie Hurricane, and when director Singleton asked him to star in Baby Boy, he was ready Singleton says Tyrese "has personality to burn. It's his personality and his sense of humor that kept him from getting beat up in Watts."

But Tyrese says Iris life is more than glitz and biceps. He has established the Tyrese Gibson Watts Foundation and has started raising money for a projected Watts community center. He also speaks at inner-city grade schools and encourages students to pursue their dreams.

Singleton and other Hollywood powers believe the new Tyrese can go all the way. "He can navigate with a lot of different people," Singleton says. "He is about as funny [and as talented] as Eddie Murphy was at his age."