Full Circle: Tyrese, Faces His LA Roots in Racial Thriller “1992”

1992 was a year of racial unrest in the United States, particularly in the city of Angels. When four police officers were granted a non-guilty verdict after being videotaped beating an unarmed Black man within inches of his life, the streets took it upon themselves to deliver a guilty verdict to the government. Mayhem ensued immediately after the verdict went public and the violence usually reserved for gang warfare was exacted upon the environment in an agitated cry in defense of police brutality against Blacks. Two years later in 1994, a star would be plucked from the dangerous culture of Watts, not far from the scene where Rodney King was brutalized. Coca Cola featured Tyrese Darnell Gibson, a 16 year old beautiful chocolate teenager with a breathtaking voice and smile to match. Tyrese was captured harmonizing in his own headphones while taking a city bus in his native LA. It wasn’t hard to imagine Tyrese being destined for superstardom at the time. The same dark skin and bald head that rendered him a target for police brutality, racial profiling, and even Black on Black crime in his Watts hood, on television and album covers were considered exotic and handsome. Four years after the Coca-cola commercial, Tyrese released his debut single, ‘Sweet Lady’ on his self-titled debut album and R&B announced it’s newest obsession.

Tyrese’s vocals made him an instant success on radio, but it was his high cheek bones, chiseled abs and Colgate smile that made him one of Black Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors in the 90s and eventually made John Singleton take a chance on him as an actor.  Tyrese played Jody a young man with stunted growth and maturity in what quickly became the cult classic ‘Baby Boy’. As his star continued rising it became evident that Tyrese’s life was on a very different trajectory than many of the young Black men he grew up with on the streets of Watts. He traded in his bus pass for foreign whips and the baggy jeans and t-shirt uniform of the streets for designer labels and a lavish lifestyle.

His God-given talent and charisma created opportunities for Tyrese to crossover from R&B fame to Hollywood superstar status with blockbuster films and a rolodex filled with celebrity friends and iconic colleagues. His success proved you can take the boy out of Watts, but you can’t take those initial values out of the man. His values are still rooted in family, friendship and community. Tyrese’s residence today is in among the Black elite in Atlanta, GA. He rubs elbows with the mayor and million dollar entrepreneurs and the city’s best and brightest. 

No one can accuse me of not being real. “I’m as real as they come and I’m not going to stop –  tyrese

Still he feels a connection to the threat of police brutality, violence and even murder that rocked the country as trending headline twenty years after the Rodney King beating of 1992. In this film, he assumes the role of Mercer, a former street thug, determined to walk the straight and narrow after being released from prison came at a time when he was experiencing tremendous internal pain in his own life. Tyrese says the film’s dark undertones paralleled his personal pain at the time he was cast for the film. “At the time I was grieving over the loss of my mother, my sister and my divorce,” he shares. “I went to Bulgaria where we shot the majority of the movie outside of what was shot in Crenshaw in LA, after just burying my mother and going through a divorce and now I have to connect and bond with a son that was never in my life. I was vulnerable from the pain of the character and then the pain in my real life to the point where both sides were holding hands with the other.  I didn’t have to work too hard to be vulnerable or to be in a certain place because I was already there,” he says.“I think the worst thing would’ve been if I had to film a ‘Fast and Furious’ or a big action film because in those roles I have to be funny. I didn’t have it in me at the time.” 

Mercer, is a convicted felon working on rebuilding his relationship with his teenaged son after returning from prison. “Mercer took me back to what John Singleton taught me. How do you deliver your thoughts and feelings in a scene without using words? How do you tap into that lava that’s boiling underneath the surface without using words to communicate it? Mercer does very well in the art of restraining himself, but he’s not a pushover. He’s not a joke.”  Executive produced by another native California superstar, Snoop Dogg, 1992 mixes fiction with facts to add context to the social issues proven by the acquittal of police officers, Timothy Wind and Theodore Briseno and the 30 month prison sentences of Laurence Powell and Seargeant Stacey Koon from the Los Angeles police department.  The story focuses on Mercer’s quiet struggle to connect with his son after serving a prison bid, juxtaposed against a White father coaching his sons to commit a crime at Mercer’s expense. The White father is played by the late acting legend Ray Liotta. Witnessing the contradictions between Mercer and Lowell gives the viewer the opportunity to contemplate the differences in the conversations between White fathers and Black fathers and their respective sons. In an emotionally charged scene Mercer is forced to watch his son be physically harassed by the police as he stands helplessly on the other side of the car trying to hold his anger while willing his son to keep his cool in order to save his life. Although the movie is based on a factual event that happened twenty-four years ago, Tyrese doesn’t believe things have changed enough. “People would assume for someone like myself racial profiling and police brutality doesn’t exist, but it can actually be worse. Some police may see a celebrity or influential person and want to make an example of them. You see what just happened with Travis Scott?” 

Tyrese’s Mercer is a powerful testament to redemption and the beauty of second chances. Although his struggle stems from being incarcerated, he believes many of his issues align with the passage of manhood that men deal with on a daily basis. “It wasn’t strange to see Mercer so committed to his new lease on life. Brothers in prison are faced with some harsh realities. Boys don’t join gangs because they want to get in trouble. The gang represents family, connection, community. Later when you are locked up and no one is taking your collect calls and your homies are smashing your baby moms you realize that loyalty has an expiration date and staying loyal to what’s dead at some point will kill you too,” he explains solemnly. Tyrese’s conversation feels much different than his commentary a few years ago, prior to losing his mother and dealing with the heartbreak of a public divorce and custody battle. His perspective today is one of a man that has loved and lost and is desperately trying to find his way to a new normal. His commentary is always raw, sometimes a bit uncomfortable but it shows a Black man, experiencing growth in real time. 

Instead of remaining the pretty face on the album cover, over the past decade he’s begun sharing his perspective on social issues and using his platform as a tool to exorcise his soul of pain from both his past and present. His desire to be an active father pushed him to share his struggle with other men who face similar issues when separating from their child(ren)’s mother.  “When you meet someone who is beautiful and charming and you believe they care about you. You believe they want to be with you but turns out they just want your money. You learn that things aren’t always as they appear to be. Sometimes the people you let closest to you can cause you the worst pain,” he says. 

With a career that spans nearly three decades, Tyrese has grown up with most of his fanbase. He’s been candid with both his personal and professional highs and lows, and though they may have caused controversy over the years he says he has no regrets. He is committed to being an example of authenticity because it allows him to live free and he hopes it will inspire others. “No one can accuse me of not being real. “I’m as real as they come and I’m not going to stop,” he promises.  Tyrese is currently working on several projects including his new short film and single ‘Wildflower’, a period piece set in the late 70’s that honors the memory of his late mother. He is also working on a new book that he hopes will empower other Black men that may be dealing with similar issues to what he learned during his custody case with his daughters. “I’m working on a book titled, ‘The Black Mail of the Black Male’’ he shares.  Shooting movies, writing books, and making music are all attempts to heal himself from the pain of losing his family and rediscovering his purpose.

‘1992’ is scheduled for release on August 30th,  Tyrese says the film is special because it is one of the last performances of actor Ray Liotta who passed away in 2022 not long after filming. He is also gearing up for several other film projects, and recently received an honorary doctorate degree. He has come a long way since boarding the city bus in the Coca Cola commercial over twenty years ago. Today he is celebrated equally for his musical prowess along with his acting ability and even the social media persona that has allowed his fans to grow alongside him from a boy to a man. His candor has allowed fans to realized his identity first and foremost as a Black man struggling to be the best version of a father to his daughters as he can while adapting to being a motherless son in a world who sees the color of his skin before it calculates his celebrity or anything else.  Tyrese has accomplished more than most could dare to dream in his 45 years, but because of his willingness to embrace his flaws and live unapologetically, it’s certain the best is yet to come.