Tyrese Gibson employed a unique marketing campaign to promote his new album "Black Rose." The R&B singer went to the New York City subway and rode buses to encourage fans to buy his album.
The "Furious 8" star visited Brooklyn last Friday, July 10, and surprised hundreds of riders on the New York subway, reports Pulse. The star was accompanied by a security team as he boarded a train to promote "Black Rose." The actor and singer introduced himself to the crowd and told commuters that he was an independent artist, having left all major recording labels so he could do the music he wants. Gibson added, "I'm independent. I'm grass roots. I'm in these streets. I'm a street performer."
Earlier this week, Gibson also did a short acapella performance while riding a bus. According to hngn.com, the bus ride is reminiscent of the star's earliest commercial project for Coca-Cola released in 1994. The singer even mimicked a scene from the soda commercial wherein Gibson opened a Coca-Cola can, took a cool sip and recited the company's jingle, "Always Coca Cola."
Gibson even shared his bus adventure on Instagram, posting several short clips of his promotional ride. He captioned the posts with lengthy messages encouraging and asking fans to buy his "full R&B soul album." The artist also called out to music stations to support "R&B soul that a black man is singing."
Gibson also wrote that "Black Rose" represents his best and wants fans to embrace and love it.
The unique marketing ploy is part of the singer's plan to nab a top spot at the Billboard charts. Aside from topping music lists, Gibson is reportedly on a mission to remind people of an old lost feeling. In a video shared on Facebook, the recording artist urged people to remember R&B, including the era before digital content became available - a time when album packaging and posters were highly treasured by fans.
Gibson also pointed out that key elements have been missing in R&B, reports the Examiner. The singer mentioned that people seem to have lost appreciation for good R&B music and artists. He adds that his "Black Rose" album will rekindle that "lost feeling."
"Black Rose" is already available in the market and was released under Gibson's own label, Voltron Recordz.
