“Cancel Culture” ain’t got nothing on good ole’ Jesus’ will for Jussie Smollett.
If you thought Empire alum Jussie Smollet was out for the count, think again. The multi-hyphenate creative shortly made his way to no. 1 on Apple’s iTunes with the single, “Some Things.”
**Top Songs are subject to change on iTunes**
The track is lifted from his directorial film debut B-Boy Blues based on the 1994 novel by author James Earl Hardy. “It’s a same-gender loving, timeless love story,” Smollett said on the red carpet at this year’s BET Awards.
B-Boy Blues, available on BET+, won an American Black Film award for Narrative Feature Fan Favorite and Best Feature Audience Award at Outshine.
The film stars Timothy Richardson, Grammy-winner Ledisi, P-Valley’s Brandee Evans, Tom Swift, Broderick Hunter, and Thomas Mackie, who plays the lead love interest.
This isn’t Smollett’s first taste at musical success. In 2015, Empire was the no.1 show to watch on Fox with nearly 14 million viewers tuned in per episode.
Fans took notice of his singing chops and how they slightly touched on the sounds of the King of Pop, the late Michael Jackson.
He was later signed to Columbia Records under the Sony Music umbrella.“There will be a Jussie Smollett album. I signed to Columbia,” he told Entertainment Weekly, per VIBE. “So darling [Laughs] I’m label mates with Beyoncé and Adele and Barbra Streisand.”
However, he told The Breakfast Club that being on Empire hindered his ability when it came to making music. When Charlamagne Da God asked Smollett about his deal with Columbia, he said,
“I was signed [but] I asked Fox to take my contract back and there [are] no hard feelings, it’s just that it was bull___t. It wasn’t for me.
He added,
“At the end of the day Fox owned the [Columbia Records] contract and I just cut a thing straight with them. I own 100 percent of my masters.”
Smollett hinted, that during that time, the gatekeepers of music had little interest in his musical independence.
“It’s something about being in a room with like, old-straight white men. And they’re telling you what piece of your art that you created should be heard by the people it was created for. It doesn’t make sense to me,” he detailed.
As far as making more public appearances at events comfortably, Smollett said,
“I made the commitment to myself to go where the love is. If you see me on a carpet, I made a choice to be there and I made the choice to be there with my people with love and respect. Just know I am happy to be here and I am happy to be here with mine.”
The 40-year-old was recently honored in Atlanta during this year’s Black Tie Gala (July 22) sponsored by The Vision Community Foundation. Smollett took home the award for Global Producer & Film Executive of the Year Excellence.
