Tyrese Gibson was a “broke” high school student in the early 1990s trying to make it before his breakout Coca-Cola commercial, “Always Coca-Cola” and at the time, the $100 seemed like a windfall. The low-paying gig turned out to be worth a whole lot more as it propelled his career, which has raked in millions.
On the Aug. 28 episode of “Club Shay Shay,” hosted by Shannon Sharpe, Gibson shared details of his start during the sit-down interview.
It All Started When…
Before the fame, Gibson attended Locke High School in Los Angeles, living with his single mother and three older siblings. With his family struggling to make ends meet, Gibson described his childhood as “broker than broke,” revealing that he had no car and often went hungry.
“When I got that $100, it was like winning the lottery. I wanted to know for the first time ever what having over $100 in my pocket would feel like,” Gibson remembered.
In 1994, an opportunity arose when Gibson’s music teacher, Reggie Andrews, connected his ambitious student to an audition. Though the gig offered a modest sum, it would open doors that would change Gibson’s life.
Andrews drove Gibson to the audition, but they were three hours late due to LA’s infamous traffic jams. Ironically, this didn’t hinder Gibson’s chances, as the woman moderating the audition was also delayed for the same reason.
Gibson’s performance at the audition led to a callback, securing his spot in the commercial. To this day, he fondly remembers how R&B music was woven into the fabric of the ad, in which he gets on a local bus wearing headphones and soulfully singing the “Always Coca-Cola” jingle.
Gibson graduated from Locke High School in 1996, and just two years later, in 1998, he signed a record deal with RCA, launching his music career and solidifying the momentum that began with his Coca-Cola commercial.
The success of the commercial paved the way for further partnerships, including his role in another Coke ad for the Coca-Cola Pay It Forward student scholarship in 2016, which awarded $5,000 to recipients.
“I don’t like being broke,” Gibson told Sharpe of that period in his life. “Some n— think I wanted to sing and be successful to get out of the hood; I became successful because I was tired of feeling stuck, broke, lonely, f— up.”
In a different interview with Gillie & Wallo, he also claimed his mother instructed him and his siblings to act as if they were special-needs children in order to get an extra $762 from the government to help. Or “government cheese,” as he put it. He said the misrepresentation was his “first acting gig.”
Gibson went on to become an acclaimed singer with Billboard-topping hits and an even bigger movie star, earning praise for his roles in blockbusters like “The Fast and Furious” franchise.
Gibson has a net worth estimated to be $4 million
Money and fame has also bought drama, debt, and divorce. He was ordered to pay his estranged wife $10,690 per month in child support for their 5-year-old daughter, Soraya Lee, and maintains a life insurance plan of $1.9 million, with the young girl as the beneficiary and ex-wife as the trustee. Tyrese has gone to social media more than once to complain about the money he must pay out.
