Tyrese’s target audience: ‘ Everybody’

After two decades, Tyrese Gibson has his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart. But for the R& B singer and Fast

and Furious franchise star, the victory is bittersweet. His sixth album, Black

Rose, sold 83,000 copies its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It’s a better launch than his last effort, 2011’ s Open Invita

tion ( 76,000), but still not as big as it could have been, says Gibson ( stage name: Tyrese).

“I feel like ( Black Rose) was under- shipped, because most of the retailers didn’t want to buy a bunch of albums and not have them sell,” says Gibson, 36. “People on ( social media) were saying, ‘ Bro, I drove to four stores and they don’t even have a copy of your album.’ And I said, ‘ This is exactly why I’m glad this album is winning, because hopefully, it’s going to respark this genre.’ ”

It’s not that R& B lacks popular appeal. Artists such as Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown, Miguel and August Alsina recently have landed in the Top 10 with albums, and British newcomer Sam Smith picked up two Grammy Awards in February for soulful hit Stay With Me. Gibson has had hits on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, cracking the top 20 with Sweet Lady in 1999 and How You Gonna Act Like That in 2003.

But Gibson is critical of mainstream radio, which has not embraced his single Shame with Jennifer Hudson as others have ( it’s at No. 2 on USA TODAY’s Urban Adult Contemporary airplay chart).

“I’m not a racist, I’m not using the race card and I’m not trying to create any type of negative energy toward ( radio hosts) Ryan Seacrest or Elvis Duran,” Gibson says. “I’m simply asking the question: If Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke and Sam Smith are singing R& B/ soul music, how is it possible that they’re being played by Top 40, rhythmic and urban AC stations? Yet when we sing R& B/ soul, it’s only being played on black radio? It’s not fair, it’s not right and I’m not having it.

“I don’t have a problem with any of these artists, or the fact that they’re white and singing R& B/ soul,” Gibson adds.

According to a statement from assistant program director Beata Murphy of L. A.’ s KIIS FM, which airs Seacrest’s show: “Pop radio pulls from all genres. ... You can hear hip- hop and R& B artists like Wiz Khalifa, Omarion, The Weeknd, Fetty Wap and Silento, in addition to Nicki Minaj, John Legend and many more, on KIIS currently. We will continue to consider all artists for airplay.”

Black Rose is Gibson’s final solo album, he says, although he is open to collaborations ( including TGT, his group with Ginuwine and Tank). But his priority is being Dad to daughter Shayla, 8.

After battling over custody with ex- wife Norma Mitchell while recording the album, Gibson says, “I didn’t come this far and work this hard just for me to be a black man that’s only selling records to black people. This music and this album is for everybody.”

JONATHAN LEIBSON, GETTY IMAGES, FOR SAMSUNG Tyrese Gibson says it isn’t fair that his music doesn’t get the same airplay as similar songs by artists such as Robin Thicke.