We all feel as though we’ve grown up with actor/singer Jason Weaver. We remember him playing a teenage Michael Jackson in the miniseries “The Jacksons: An American Dream,” on the sitcom “Smart Guy” and in films Drumline, ATL and Lottery Ticket just to name a few. Jason’s new film “He’s Mine, Not Yours,” which he co-produced, will premiere on BET this December. FEARLESS caught up with Jason where he spoke about the film, his new music projects, and how being part of “The Lion King” still impacts him today.

Tell us about the film “He’s Mine, Not Yours” that will premiere on BET soon.

It’s a new film that I produced. It premieres on BET in December as a Sunday movie.  I’m really excited about it. It’s really funny, I play a guy that’s a firefighter who’s in a long-term relationship with his girlfriend, played by Gabrielle Dennis, where they’re trying to take it to the next level, but because of his past history as a flirt, that makes his girlfriend insecure. His girlfriend hires a temptress, played by Caryn Ward (The Game), to test whether he will stay faithful. The temptress begins to throw herself at my character. My character doesn’t go for it, and she begins to develop feelings for him. The girlfriend knows that if the he finds out that she hired a temptress it will be the end of their relationship. It’s a really good movie. It will give people a different look at relationships and it shows that not all men are dogs. I’m faithful to my girlfriend, I can honestly say. It’s a positive movie and shows black men in a positive light.

What was the atmosphere like on set?

It was really good. The co-producer, Eric Tomosunas, I worked with him on “Love For Sale,” a movie with Jackie Long which they play on BET all the time [laughs]. We’ve known each other for about 4 or 5 years, and we have a great working relationship. He provided an opportunity for me to produce and get involved with the project. I got to work with Carl Payne (Martin) and Darius McCrary (Family Matters), guys I’ve known since I was kid. To be able to work with them was a great experience. Gabrielle Dennis, who plays my girlfriend, has made many guest appearances on The Game. She is going to be very recognizable. Caryn Ward is a really good actress.  She was the kind of actress who likes to communicate between each scene. She was very much aware of the dynamic as working actors. 

Other than “He’s Mine, Not Yours,” what other projects have you been working on?

I have a history in music. Years ago I was signed to Motown at 14, and had a song called “Love Ambition.” I had a #1 rap record with Chingy called “One Call Away.” It’s something that I’ve always been a part of. I teamed up with my writing partner Sky Keeton and we formed a production team called Sons of Bobby Brown. We were in the studio working, and we grew up on New Edition, Jodeci, Al B. Sure. We started to notice that once we began to collect this body of work that these songs were hot and would be good for Bobby Brown if he was still recording. Somebody in the studio said we should call ourselves Sons of Bobby Brown. Most black artists don’t really do records for that genre and you don’t get a chance to hear that soulful element anymore. There’s a void that needs to be filled.

After seriously sitting back and thinking about it, we decided to shoot a video for a song called “You Got Me.” We went to the store and got some clothes, and it was directed by Willie Jones. We shot it at his studio and 3 days later we had a complete video and put it on YouTube. The response was positive and has been an eye-opener for me. I was taught that the only way to reach your audience was with a label and to leave your career in other people’s hands. This has shown me to feed the material to the people and let them decide what they want. It’s an exciting time for me right now. We have the mixtape that should be out by next month. We’re aligning ourselves with a deejay known on a national scale [still working on details] and will have appearances by Carl Thomas and Kalenna (Dirty Money). It should be out the latter part of October called Sons of Bobby Brown.

The movie “The Lion King” is being re-released in 3D and you were part of the film singing all the songs for Simba’s character. What was that experience like for you then?

I sung “I Just Can’t Wait to be King.” It was awesome. It’s amazing what God has done in my life. I did it at around 12, 13, 14-years-old. I was recruited by Tim Rice and Elton John. We were still filming the Jackson miniseries, and it was offered to me. They hadn’t really started the animation yet and were trying to get the songs together. I went into the studio recording it really not knowing that it was going to reach the level of success that it has reached. And 16-17 years later, it’s possibly going to be #1 3 weeks in a row.

It’s great to be re-introduced to a new generation and be able to take my son to the movies and say, ‘That’s your dad when I was a little older than you.’ People know me outside the Jackson miniseries. I go to sports bars and I get random people coming up to me saying ‘I love that song’ [“I Just Can’t Wait to Be King”]. I want to thank everyone who has gone out to support that film and express my gratitude. I want to let everybody know that it’s appreciated. It’s hard for everybody right now to take their hard-earned money and go to the movies, so I really appreciate it. 

You started in the entertainment business when you were 5, what advice would you give to someone who wants to be in the industry?

First thing, especially young people in this generation where you can become an instant celebrity with a reality show or a video on YouTube, respect the art form whether it’s singing or acting. When it’s all said and done some people have instant success, for some people it can be a gradual climb. The one thing I will say about people, who have instant success, is they don’t understand what’s going on around them and they fizzle out. The best way to go about it is to treat this as a marathon, developing your skills and talents. Have knowledge of the business and take it seriously. The people that are really doing it, these people work. They put long hours into the studio, doing interview after interview.

This requires hard work, be knowledgeable about how the business goes, and how in turn you can bless others once you have received your blessing. Keep a good core of people around you who you can place a good amount of trust in and who can be honest. Have a close relationship with God or the universe. That will allow you to have someone there that will guide you. You go through a lot of different stuff. You can stay spiritually strong and that’s a strong component.

You can follow Jason Weaver on Twitter @JWEAVERJ and his writing partner Sky Keeton @SKY_KEETON.

By: Brittney Fennell

Are you looking forward to seeing “He’s Mine, Not Yours” when it premieres on BET in December?