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Tristan Wilds Sings and Rhymes on New EP, Fan of Mos Def

Posted Nov 4th 2011 10:55AM by Keith Murphy
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Jonathan Leibson, FilmMagic

On the popular CW reboot of the '90s television classic '90210,' actor Tristan Wilds plays Dixon, aspiring hip-hop producer and DJ. Now the 22-year-old thespian is turning fiction into reality. Wilds, who first garnered fame as the layered character Michael on the critically-acclaimed street drama 'The Wire,' is gearing up to release an independent EP in late November. He calls the work, with production from Rico Love and Dre & Vidal, a mix of hip-hop and R&B.

"My album is going to be predominantly singing with some rhyming on it," he tells The BoomBox. "I had fun working on this music. I'm planning on dropping a free 7 song EP this November. Not to be all like the other actors [laughs], but music is a big part of my life. It is who I am. I feel like I don't have to love one thing over the other when it comes to acting and music. I want to do a little bit of everything. I'm learning how to play the guitar a little bit. I take music very seriously."

As for his influences, Wilds, who has appeared in music videos by Jay-Z and Lil Wayne, says that many fans will be surprised to know that he has quite an eclectic list of musical favorites, courtesy of his older sibling and high school peers.

"I'll go from electronic from Diplo and then the same day listen to Kanye West and Jay[-Z] and then listen to Mos Def and Blackstar and then listen to the Police and Iggy Pop," he explains. "I blame that on the way that I grew up in the projects with my older brother who was a super hip-hop head. And my mom and dad had me listening to soul music from Marvin Gaye to Norman Conners. I then went to a predominantly white school so they taught me everything about Bob Dylan and stuff like that. I'm all over the place."

While music is a passion, Wilds is not quitting his day job. He is set to star in the George Lucas produced Tuskegee Airman era war drama 'Red Tails,' which premieres January 20, 2012.

Watch Trista Wilds Read an Excerpt of 'Perfect'

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