Twitter collectively stood up for ’90s R&B singer Tevin Campbell after author Luvvie Ajayi scoffed at the possibility he could perform at an Aretha Franklin tribute.
“Someone suggested Tevin Campbell to sing at Aretha tribute,” Ajayi wrote. “Under what rock did they pull that name from?”
That was all it took. Suddenly, Twitter exploded with love for the former teenage heartthrob. From Missy Elliott and Wale to “I Love Your Smile” singer Shanice and Ferrari Sheppard, people weren’t having it.
Campbell and the Queen of Soul’s relationship stretched back many years. On Friday (August 17) — one day after Franklin passed away — he shared an old photo of the two of them together.
In the caption, Campbell wrote, “The only celebrity that made me nervous…each time I saw her I acted like a nervous fan. The first thing she would say to me was, ‘How is your mom?’
“I literally studied every moment, every specific great thing she did with her voice. The queen was/is everything to me.”
The young musical prodigy released his platinum-selling debut, T.E.V.I.N., in 1991 and followed up with 1993’s I’m Ready, which produced the No. 1 single “Can We Talk.” That album went on to be certified double-platinum by the RIAA.
Throughout the ’90s, Campbell remained a mainstay on the R&B charts. His last full-length album, Another Way, was released in 2005.
Despite his relatively low profile over the last several years, people evidently still love some Tevin Campbell.
Check out some of the best Twitter reactions below. [apple_news_ad type=”any”]
Last time I heard dudes name, In Living Color was on the air with new shows. He can sing his ass off though… I get the “where is this guy been” comment, saying he isn’t worthy is BS. He can blow. No homo.
This is exactly why I hate Twitter and other social media. Gives too many dumb people a platform. Even if you’re halfway an R&B fan you know that Campbell and Aretha had a close personal relationship outside of music, so why wouldn’t somebody who can actually sing be part of a tribute for her? Not to mention that this person is acting like being relevant in this day and age is something to be proud of anyway. So we can see somebody who doesn’t have their autotune on deck embarrass themselves at a tribute for a woman that really could blow? Speaking of, who in the fuck is this person since they’re making that an issue. I read a lot of shit, and I ain’t ever heard of them, so I guess we’re using author loosely as a label like we do with that model shit these days.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH
Who are you? Another dumb person with a platform? Let’s deplatform you and see how you like it?
fuck that black stupid motherfucker and his moma
girl bye
It’s not even slander IMO. People take shit the wrong way and are way too sensitive. That first tweet just questioned Tevin relevance and absence from the industry. That’s my understanding of it. And I was a fan of Tevin growin up.
What does relevance to the industry have to do with a tribute to somebody? That’s what is wrong with the whole premise of the comment. Dude had a personal relationship with Aretha Franklin, can sing, and thus should be included if someone wants singers to do something. It makes way more sense than having somebody hot in the moment like The Weeknd or Bruno Mars do something when they didn’t have that personal relationship with her.
That would be like somebody asking what is Stevie Wonder’s relevance because he hasn’t had a platinum album in 25 years or whatever. It’s just a stupid comment.
Maybe, but she’s entitled to it so don’t get mad. Somebody might view your comment as stupid. Would you like to be deplatformed?
I wouldn’t say any ignorant shit like that, so I wouldn’t be worried about it. It was somebody trying to be funny and the shit just fell flat because as always with Social Media, people are always trying to get people to notice them rather than say anything worth a shit. Never fails. Trying to shit on Tevin Campbell, for what reason at that moment of all times which is an even bigger headscratcher, when the whole focus should be on sending a legend out the right way with people she respected doing the tribute, and anybody knowing even a little bit about her knows she respected him and his talent.
A simple yes or no will do…
I wasn’t having it either when I saw that!
I love you Tevin Campbell and still play your music right today. Now I’m going to come down on your haters level if you don’t have nothing nice to say then shut the fuck up! This is a prime example of why we are no further than we are today is because we show more hate than love for one another.
I wasn’t having it either when I saw that!
I guess that backfired. smh… good ole social media.