It’s who I am, and I’m just ready to give away my heart. This is everything that I feel and I think and I want to be as an artist. It’s a weight off my shoulders to not have to make room for another opinion. How did it feel making this album solo versus as part of a duo? This is an open relationship for two people that are in love. This is broad daylight in New Jersey, somewhere in the sunshine, looking into each other’s eyes lovingly.
Right – and I even saw some comments like, “What is this with gays on the down low?” There’s nothing down low about this. Kelly did with “Trapped in the Closet,” which seems like a common portrayal of black gay men. (Director) Julius (Erving III) did a fantastic job putting together a video that showed the story in its true art form.Īnd you didn’t go with the down-low approach, like R. I think for two openly gay males – black males at that – to be shown in the light that they were was a very surreal moment for many.Ī point in making the video was to make the mark that they were happy and in love and open to loving one another in front of whomever, and to establish their relationship outside of what the world thought they thought the world of each other. It was just how I portrayed my scenario as if those were my friends, and I wasn’t thinking of it as breaking color barriers, too. Do you think there’s a race divide when it comes to gay people in the media? Did you consider that when you cast the video for “Far Away”?
It’s rare to see black gay men portrayed in such a loving, open way as they are in the video. I wanted the video to get a reaction, and it is. I’ve said, “If that’s what you took from this video, so be it,” and just ended it there. Someone tweeted you and called the video “fag shit.” How do you respond to comments like that? (Laughs) I’ll take that, but for the ones who are still opposed, I say genuinely grasp onto what is being said and what is being taught here. On YouTube, there will be like 150,000 “likes” and maybe 100 “dislikes,” so, you know, majority rules. It’s getting people talking and disagreeing – or agreeing – so I’m thankful for that. When you can’t be accepted for who you are in this world, that’s all you have. Whether it was a fight against what’s right or wrong or what’s love and what’s hate, people are speaking and I’m changing minds.Īll I want for people to see with this video is that hate is hate no matter who you are. It was never my intention to cause a stir, but I wanted to get a reaction and I’m thankful that it’s opened a line of communication to people who wouldn’t speak to each other at one point. How do you feel about the buzz surrounding the video? For me, it was important for those voices that don’t get the opportunity to speak to be heard loud and clear.Ĭomments on YouTube and on blogs range from Biblical references condemning homosexuality to ones that saying this video saved their life. Thankfully, he’s still here, but there have been many stories in the press as of late of people taking their own lives because of the same circumstance and I just felt like it was only right to get that story to the demographic that listens to my music.ĭo you think you’re reaching people that aren’t aware of these issues?ĭefinitely. No, definitely attempted – and not once, but a few times. So it was only right that when the song was chosen for the single that I did a video to go exactly with what I was feeling emotionally. But when you’re not living that life for them, there’s nothing you can do. To try to deal with someone who’s in such a dark place, it was very disheartening for me – the bestie that’s all smiles, ensuring that the world will be OK. I’d gone through a situation with a friend of mine who was battling issues with his sexuality, and not being accepted and the feeling that there’s no other way out than to take your own life. Why is the issue of gay suicide so close to your heart? We caught up with Ambrosius, who opened up about the inspiration behind the bold video, how people are reacting to it and why it’s breaking color barriers, too. The song is also the lead single from the English singer’s very personal “Late Nights & Early Mornings,” her first solo album, out March 1, after parting ways with R&B duo Floetry. Her video, “Far Away,” is an all-too-real take on gay bullying and suicide that’s inspired by her friend’s attempt at taking his own life. Marsha Ambrosius isn’t going to tell you that it gets better.
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