When actor Tristan Wilds announced he would begin releasing music under the moniker Mack Wilds, his female fans were ecstatic. Then he let the fellas know he would be recording with the legendary Salaam Remi (Nas, Amy Winehouse, Miguel, Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo) and we all came onboard with the ambitious 24-year-old’s latest move as well. Best known for his breakout roles as Michael Lee on the critically acclaimed HBO drama “The Wire”, and also as Dixon Wilson on the CW hit “90210”, the television star landed a huge feature film role starring in George Lucas’ “Red Tails” last year. We caught up with young Hollywood’s busiest young New Yorker to discuss girls, Greenhouse parties, and making good music.
Read an Excerpt from the Full Length Interview
(Tone Swep: TS) I ask every New York native, are you a diehard Knicks fan or a newly fitted Nets fan?
(Tristan “Mack” Wilds: Mack) Knicks all day! I’ve been a big Knicks fan every day, all day, since the days of John Starks and Patrick Ewing. I will always be a loyal Knicks fan. I have to be.
(TS) Let’s jump right into the music. “Own It” is a banger man. You and Salaam went in. There is depth to the lyrics. “I’m young right now, but I won’t be forever”.
(Mack) I feel that anything I decide to touch, whether written for me by someone else, or if it’s written by me personally, has to have depth. I’m not a surficial person or a surficial artist. Anything I touch has to have some depth and realness to it. Ne-Yo so beautifully wrote a deep first verse, and then I authored in the second verse. It has a good melody to it and I think it’s deeper than most of the R&B or Hip Hop that’s out right now. I want to bring more depth to music right now.
(TS) The “Own It” video has edge, a street vibe. You took it back to the bricks with the BMX bikes and graffiti. Was this an effort to remind people that you’re not just Dixon from 90210, but also Michael from The Wire?
(Mack) Honestly, it’s more so like – ‘let me introduce you guys to Mack Wilds’. I grew up in the Stapleton Projects, where we shot every scene in that video. Those people you see in that video are people I interacted with everyday coming up. I used to ride BMX bikes every day with my homies. I didn’t do tricks like my boy Nigel (Sylvester) but we rode through the streets. I used to do graffiti, and I got in trouble for it (Laughs!). But I am from New York and I lived the life a kid often does growing up here.
(TS) You had a birthday party the other day at Greenhouse. Saw some baddies in the pictures man. How many ladies tried to go home with the birthday boy that night?
(Mack) (Laughs!) A few, nah, but it was cool. That night… (recalls, reminisces)… it was quite a few pretty ladies and it was fun. You gotta celebrate every year that you are here. You can be gone any second. I lose more and more friends every day and it just reminds me to appreciate each day, be thankful for each day, and to celebrate being here while I can.
(TS) How are you balancing the demands and daily requirements of your acting career with your latest venture in music?
(Mack) It’s all about the timing. Making the necessary time for each thing, so the acting, I had to put it on the back burner for a moment because you can’t do too many things at one time. I’m the type of person, if I’m focused on too many things at once it won’t come out as good as it is supposed to. Or as good as it could have been, because I’m trying to do too many things at once. I have to focus.
(TS) Baddest chick in the game – who is she? Hands down, not even close.
(Mack) It’s between Beyoncé and Rihanna. Beyoncé came back after Blue Ivy and shut everything down. Rihanna has been killing and killing and keeps killing. So it’s between those two.
(TS) I know you’re a Hip Hop head. Give us your top 5 MC’s Dead or Alive?
(Mack) Ok, this is in no certain order. Jay-Z, Biggie, Nas, Tupac, and Lauryn Hill.
(TS) Women love actors. Groupies like singers. Has a different class of lady been hunting you down since you started releasing hot music in addition to the feature films and TV shows?
(Mack) I haven’t noticed too much of a change as of yet, but it’s still early. But women are women. I love them all.