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Tyrese Talks 'The System,' Jaden Smith On Standing Up For What's Right, New Music And More
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“REVOLT Black News Weekly” aired on Friday (Nov. 11) to discuss the ongoing investigation into the death of Migos rapper Takeoff, the issue of gun violence in the Black community, and the aftermath of the 2022 midterm elections. REVOLT Special Correspondent Rochelle Ritchie led the episode titled, “Roll or Not to Roll?; Street Justice Post-Takeoff’s Tragedy; Midterm Elections’ Racist Tactics?; Jaden Smith’s New Music and Fashion Directive.”
She was joined by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, rapper T.I. “Tip” Harris, Democratic political strategist Dontaye Carter, Congressional candidate Darius Mayfield (R-NJ), and Atlanta Hawks’ vice president of corporate social responsibility, Andrea Carter. REVOLT Entertainment Correspondent Kennedy Rue McCullough also brought viewers the latest in celebrity news, during which she interviewed actor Tyrese Gibson about his new movie role and spoke with Jaden Smith about his clothing line, MSFTS.
Ritchie opened the show by discussing Takeoff’s tragic death and whether it was appropriate that the entire ordeal was captured on cellphone video. On Nov. 1, the 28-year-old was shot and killed while attending a private party in Houston, Texas. Hours after the rapper was fatally wounded, viral footage of the incident circulated on social media showing clips of the rapper’s lifeless body.
Rapper Gillie Da King took to Instagram to criticize those who shared the disturbing footage. “Why every time something happens to a rapper or athlete or an entertainer or anybody of color, the first thing you do is pull your phones out, start recording and post that s**t on the internet?” he asked. He continued, “The last image a motherf**ker want to see is they people laying on the ground.”
Ritchie later led a discussion with T.I. and Dickens about whether gun violence is overshadowing and traumatizing our communities. T.I. believes gun violence is an issue in the Black community because “it’s cultural and instinctive.” “You have to question the emotional intelligence of the person who has the gun in their hand,” he declared. “But I think that a lack of opportunities in our areas is what caused so much gun violence. So, it’s like survival of the fittest.”
Although Dickens asserts that legislation plays a role in combatting gun violence, he thinks the “government isn’t a solution to everything in the community.”
“What we’re lacking is a true ecosystem where everybody’s putting their hands in — from clergy to business, to government, to self-actualization of the people themselves, as well as the educational institutions,” he explained. Dickens continued, “It’s also important… for these young people to see that there’s an opportunity for them to thrive and that they have other ways to win.”
Later in the show, McCullough hosted her “Entertainment Remix” segment, where she spoke with Gibson about his role in the film The System. The Fast & Furious star plays a former marine who goes undercover as an inmate to take down a corrupt prison system.
Gibson told REVOLT that he was shocked after experiencing life behind bars. “We shot the film inside of an active prison with real inmates — and in Mississippi, it was a real reminder that this is what’s going on every day, and it’s painful,” he expressed. The entertainer continued, “We see, witness, and experience the way the prison smelled. The kind of dark, suppressive, depressive energy that was in there. It took me at least three months to kind of decompress from feeling stuck and vulnerable inside of that prison.”
During the segment, McCullough also spoke with Smith, who discussed his clothing line MSFTS, which he says he created for those who think differently. “Ever since we were younger, I always wanted to experiment with fashion and, like, wearing different things,” he revealed. “I want hoodies that have a message of something that really matters.”
Last month, the “Icon” rapper made headlines after he walked out of Kanye West’s Paris fashion show when he spotted the Chicago superstar wearing a “white lives matter” shirt. He told McCullough, “If there’s something that I can’t stand by, then I just can’t stand by it. I’m not just going to stand somewhere that I don’t feel like is representing the culture that I’m a part of.”
Watch a quick clip from this week’s episode up top. Plus, be sure to catch the next installment of “REVOLT Black News Weekly” on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022 at 5 p.m. ET on REVOLT’s app.