“Return Of The Mack”
Actor, Tristan Wilds has been on the rise for quite sometime now. Wilds is best known for his roles as Michael Lee on the HBO’s original drama series The Wire and as Dixon Wilson on the CW drama series 90210. For the last few years, Tristan has captivated audiences with his charm, charisma and of course, some great acting, and now, after years on the both the small and big screen (as well as several theater productions), Wilds is ready to take on his second love, Music. Enter, Mack Wilds, the musically inclined alter ego of the actor, who has replaced his acting chops with smooth vocals and some mesmerizing beats. Mack is not the first actor to turn his talents from acting to singing, but he will definitely be one of the more successful ones. No shade included, just trust us. With that said, there should be no surprise as to why we chose Tristan to cover the October/November Digital Cover of Stuff Fly People Like! Tristan exudes what the fly people like, and we’ve been following his movement for a while now, he’s indeed what Fly People Like!
SFPL caught up with the actor/singer during his promo tour for his forthcoming debut album, ‘New York: A Love Story’. The 13-track disc is dedicated to Mack’s hometown, The Big Apple. The signee to Grammy-Nominated producer Salaam Remi’s newly launched imprint group, Re Mi Fa/Louder Than Life, through Sony Music, has promised us that we’ll love it as soon as we hear it, and we co-sign that statement. On location at the amazing showroom of Brooklyn based clothing brand, Entree LS (and styled in most of the brands new Fall ‘13 line styled by the brands own, Reginald Elliott) Mack shot an amazing fashion spread with a Return Of The Mack Theme, shot by famed photographer, Andrew Fennell. Come on in and step into the spread and interview of our newly appointed “Mr. Stuff Fly People Like.”
SFPL: Your love for singing, how long has it existed?
Mack: I mean, I’ve always sung, always had a love for it. Before acting, I was always singing. I was the kid running around the house singing ‘One Last Cry”, or Jodeci’s “Forever My Lady”. Even though I had no business singing those songs at that age lol, I didn’t know anything that they were talking about, but music was very much apart of my upbringing.”
What made right now the right time to make the transition from acting to singing?
I think it was perfect timing with 90210 ending. It just made sense to go full fledge with it. I’m usually a gut feeling type of person, and my gut was telling me to go, so instead of backing up, I decided to go hard with it!
Is there one passion that outweighs the other as far as acting or music?
Ahhh, Nah. I can’t even choose. Had you asked me this a few years ago, I would have definitely said music. But I love acting so much that I can’t even choose. Acting has shown me my love for creativity and creation, and building character, but performing, writing songs, singing songs, rapping the songs, making them into something dope, something great! Actually creating something, I love that more than everything else that I do.
What can we expect to hear musically on this new project?
Realness. It’s a taste of the New York feeling. The iconic feel on New York City. The sound of where we are from, and also just great music.
Who are some of your favorite artist right now?
J. Cole is amazing. Kendrick is amazing as well. Drake did his thing on this album. Especially the legends of this shit as well, The Kanye’s, the Jay’s, the Lauryn Hills etc… Just watching all the kids of this generation, my generation, watching them do it, and do it right.
Are you currently dating?
I’m single.
Single in all caps or single in lower case letters?
Single, lol.
Some up your personal style in 3 words.
Dope, Minimalistic, and Top-Notch.
Thoughts on being chosen as SFPL’s new cover boy, following in the footsteps of Elle Varner, Bridget Kelly, Dawn Richard & Luke James (SFPL Alumni)
Feels good. I feel like I’m in good company. Those are not only people who are amazing at what they do, but folks who are dedicated to their craft. To be considered with them, is pretty amazing.
On the eve of the release of your project, what would make the happiest tomorrow? Besides going double platinum, lol.
Going on Twitter tomorrow and seeing the love from the fans and the critics. That’s all I want. I just want people to hear it and let me know what they think. I just want people to hear it. I want people to love it like I love it.
What does the word FLY means to you?
Fly is a mindset, it’s more than just a word or a style, its a whole mindset. To be fly is to be upper echelon, to be next level. And that’s in all aspects whether it’s musically, fashion wise or anything else. Fly is definitely next level.
Stylist: Reginald Elliott (Entree LS)
Photographer: Andrew Fennell
MUA: Patricia Ambroise
Behind-The-Scenes Photography: Bernard Smalls of SFPL
Brands: Entree LS, Gifted Apparel, Served Fresh, Tekkies Bk & Ocessories.
Words & Interview By Rae Holliday (Of Stuff Fly People Like)
Ayeeee!