Tyrese has the #1 R&B song in the country but is furious that mainstream radio stations won’t play his hit track.
The 36-year-old singer’s new album, Black Rose, is number one on Billboard’s R&B chart right now, but white music stations still aren’t playing his songs, including his new single, “Shame.”
According to Gibson, that’s because pop stations only play R&B when it’s performed by white artists.
“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,” Gisbon told TMZ in a video published Tuesday. “We don’t say because they white they should only be played on the white stations. If I’m number one … my song deserves to be heard by the world.”
Gibson added that he’s personally reached out to top radio DJs, including Ryan Seacrest (of KIIS FM in Los Angeles) and Elvis Duran (of Z100 in New York).
“At this point, I believe that if Sam Smith, Robin Thicke or Justin Timberlake had been singing “Shame,” it’d be played on all formats of radio around the world, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s not right.”
This is just the latest publicity stunt for Gibson, who has gone to great lengths to promote his new album.
Weeks ago, he hit the New York City subway to plead with train riders to download Black Rose.
On Tuesday, “Black Rose” was number three on the Billboard 200, after Taylor Swift’s “1989” and Future’s “DS2.”
Tyrese also expressed his frustrations with mainstream radio stations in a recent post on Facebook.
Follow theGrio.com’s Entertainment Editor Chris Witherspoon on Twitter @WitherspoonC.