If you turn on any urban radio station at any given time of the day, you’ll probably hear Tyrese’s song “Shame,” from his new album Black Rose, which is currently the No. 1 R&B song on the charts. This time last year, or the year before, if you turned on any urban radio, you’d also hear Robin Thicke and Sam Smith belting away with their blue-eyed soul music. You’d also hear those same artists on every mainstream or pop-music radio station, too. But right now you’d be hard-pressed to hear Tyrese on those same airwaves.
The R&B singer expressed exactly how he feels about mainstream radio stations in an interview with TMZ.
“I have an issue with mainstream radio. I don’t create limits for myself. I don’t appreciate mainstream radio not playing my song. When I think about Sam Smith, Robin Thicke and 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 should only be played on the white stations,” Tyrese stated.
This isn’t the first time the R&B singer has criticized mainstream radio for not playing his music. Recently he called out radio personalities Ryan Seacrest of KIIS FM and Z-100’s Elvis Duran in an open letter posted on Facebook.
How is it possible that urban radio plays Robin Thicke, Justin Timberlake and Sam Smith ( When they release R&B Soul records and when we're singing in the EXACT same genre, WE don't get ANY love on the other side…?? Sam Smith won a BET award and was a no-show - is that ok?
As artists…. Other than Robin Thicke.. Are you guys interested in doing any radio promo? Call ins? Meet and greets with the fans for those Urban Radio Spins?? Do you have any idea how HARD it is to get your songs ON Urban radio?? Or to land a BET nomination? We have to work our ASSES OFF for every spin! #SHAME ft Jennifer Hudson needs to be HEARD by people ALL AROUND the WORLD!!!! And I won't stop or rest until we get there.
During his interview with TMZ, Tyrese expressed his belief that if Smith, Timberlake and Thicke were the singers behind “Shame,” the song would get immediate play.
“At this point, I believe if Sam Smith, Robin Thicke or Justin Timberlake were singing ‘Shame,’ it would be played on all formats of radio around the world. As far as I’m concerned, that’s not right,” Tyrese continued.
Should Tyrese sit back and accept the fact that mainstream radio isn’t playing his song? And stop wanting to be accepted? Probably not, because there is definitely a disparity when it comes to which artists get play on both radio formats. When white R&B artists are heralded for the same thing black R&B artists do, one has to wonder if white is also right when it comes to R&B music on the radio.