Kevin McCall calls Tyrese a “buster” for refusing to house him when he was homeless [VIDEO]

Kevin McCall says Tyrese offered “networking calls” instead of shelter during his 2014 homelessness, sparking debate about accountability in R&B

Kevin McCall has reignited controversy with his latest interview, this time taking aim at fellow R&B singer and actor Tyrese Gibson, accusing him of being a “buster” for not offering him a place to stay during his period of homelessness over a decade ago.

The clip, first shared by @ArtOfDialogue_ on X (formerly Twitter), features McCall sitting on an orange couch in a colorful, convenience store–themed set. He recounts how, around 2014, he reached out to Tyrese—his childhood idol from their shared hometown of Watts, California—hoping for direct help. Instead, Tyrese allegedly offered him “networking calls” and “gems of wisdom” rather than a bed.

The 1:23 video quickly went viral, earning over 900 likes, 177 replies, and widespread laughter from viewers who felt McCall misunderstood the nature of mentorship. His detailed Tyrese impression, complete with the deep, dramatic tone Tyrese is famous for, became the moment’s highlight.

Kevin McCall Recalls Calling Tyrese For Help

In the video, McCall opens bluntly:

“Tyrese is a buster.”

From there, he launches into an animated story about being “famous but broke” and sleeping on his grandmother’s couch in 2014 after losing millions. He claims that while Tyrese was living “in a big-ass mansion with a Benihana in the back,” he himself was struggling to survive.

“This my idol,” McCall says in the clip. “I used to walk from Century and Avalon just to watch him perform at talent shows. So when he called me, I thought, ‘Oh, he finna let me move in.’”

But, according to McCall, the call took an unexpected turn.

“He said, ‘God told me I shouldn’t let you skip the hurdles I had to climb. I’m gonna give you the gems,’” McCall mocks, dropping into an exaggerated deep voice.
“Man, shut the heck up!” he snaps, before laughing off-camera.

McCall says Tyrese offered to “call anyone, a friend of a friend” to vouch for him, but the lack of concrete help left him bitter. “If you don’t get the heck off my phone with that weirdo stuff,” he recalled saying, slamming Tyrese’s style of “inspiration without action.”

The clip ends with laughter from the interviewer, leaving the exchange hanging between comedy and resentment.

Fans React: Humor, Mockery, and Disbelief

While McCall’s rant was meant to expose Tyrese’s alleged hypocrisy, the internet largely turned on him instead. Most replies mocked McCall’s attitude, labeling him entitled and ungrateful for expecting another man to house him.

One X user wrote:

“Why is this grown man asking another grown man to take care of him?”

Another added:

“All these stories about how everyone ‘did him dirty,’ and there’s one common denominator—Kevin.”

Even users sympathetic to McCall’s mental health struggles admitted the video was hard to watch. A top comment read:

“So sad to see. You can tell this is someone still processing pain, but blaming everyone else won’t fix it.”

At the same time, many viewers praised McCall’s uncanny Tyrese impression, calling it “Oscar-worthy.” One fan joked, “Bro nailed the cadence, the pauses, the drama—he might’ve just saved his career as a voice actor.”

Still, the consensus leaned heavily against McCall. Tyrese, who hasn’t publicly responded, was defended by fans who said offering advice and connections was more realistic than providing shelter to an acquaintance with legal troubles.

Context: McCall’s history of feuds and downfall

Kevin McCall’s frustration fits into a long pattern of self-inflicted career chaos. The singer-songwriter rose to fame in the early 2010s after co-writing and featuring on Chris Brown’s “Deuces,” “Strip,” and other hits under RCA Records.

But after falling out with Brown around 2015, McCall’s career unraveled. His public image was marred by domestic violence allegations, a custody battle with model Eva Marcille, and multiple arrests—including one in 2019 for assaulting a police officer during a court appearance.

Marcille has accused McCall of years of abuse, claiming he physically attacked her while she was pregnant. Courts later granted her full custody of their daughter, Marley Rae, whom her husband Michael Sterling legally adopted.

In later interviews, McCall admitted to anger issues, saying, “I’ve made mistakes, but I’m human.” Yet fans often note that instead of accountability, McCall tends to deflect blame—whether toward the industry, Chris Brown, or now Tyrese.

In one of his recent interviews, McCall said he “blew through” nearly $8 million in earnings from his brief success. “I ain’t got no royalties, no credits, nothing,” he said tearfully. “Everybody ate but me.”

Tyrese’s Side: Mentorship Over Handouts

While Tyrese hasn’t directly commented on the “buster” accusation, the story aligns with his long-documented philosophy of “tough love” mentoring. In his 2018 book How to Get Out of Your Own Way, Tyrese wrote that “real help doesn’t mean doing it for you—it means showing you how to do it yourself.”

Fans of Tyrese say McCall misunderstood that principle. One user on X summed it up:

“Tyrese gave him the game, not a guest room. There’s a difference.”

Tyrese has faced his own share of public scrutiny for emotional social media outbursts and financial struggles during his custody battle in 2017, but he’s largely remained a respected figure in R&B and Hollywood.

Many see McCall’s comments as an example of resentment toward peers who managed to maintain stability while he spiraled. As one commenter put it:

“Tyrese was never your problem, bro. You were.”

Hollywood’s Cycle of Mentorship and Resentment

The feud also exposes a deeper issue in R&B and hip-hop circles: younger artists seeking validation and financial rescue from established stars, only to lash out when that support doesn’t come.

In that sense, McCall’s rant is less about Tyrese specifically and more about his frustration with the industry that once embraced him—and now largely ignores him.

McCall’s Ongoing Breakdowns

This latest clip is part of a string of erratic interviews McCall has given recently, including tearful confessions about losing his children, living off EBT cards, and begging Chris Brown to release unpaid royalties.

Fans who once rooted for his comeback now see these appearances as self-sabotage.

Mental health advocates, however, urge compassion, pointing out the trauma that often accompanies fame and fallouts.