Posted by | Ray Cornelius
UPTOWN is heating things up this fall for their 10th anniversary cover which features Common and Selita Ebanks. The versatile rapper and former Victoria’s Secret model ooze sex for the magazine’s ‘Style & Music’ issue. They also appear in photos together taken by famed photographer Cliff Watts at the EWOW Penthouse Suite at The W Times Square.
The Hell On Wheels star, who will also appear in Ava Duvernay’s Selma, dishes about his image as a hip-hop sex symbol, his love affair with former girlfriend Serena Williams, the violence in his home town of Chicago and his thoughts on today’s music. He also opens up about his friendship with the late J Dilla and why his current album, Nobody Smiling is music for today.
Check out photos and excerpts from the interview below:
On being a hip-hop sex symbol…
“It’s not what I reach for, but I like women, so I’m not running away from it,” he smirks. “But I’m not running out saying, ‘Hey let me get my eyebrows arched’ or whatever sex symbols do.”
On his current project, Nobody Smiling…
“The most beautiful thing about this project is it’s not ahead of its time, it’s not a throwback album. It feels like today,” he says. “I feel like a new artist. There are people out there that don’t know my music, but they know me from acting. Some don’t know me at all.”
On speaking from the heart…
“I’m hardcore which to me is coming from the heart. Putting your heart on that paper and being true.”
On his future relationship…
“If I’m in it as much as I was with Serena, as much as I loved her…it takes time to heal and find that peace to be able to move on.”
Click here to read the full interview
Photo Credits: Cliff Watts/UPTOWN
