Update: Jada Pinkett Smith confirmed Friday that she did, indeed, have a relationship with singer August Alsina on latest edition of her show, Red Table Talk , as you can see by watching the below video.. However, she said it was not an affair with husband Will Smith’s vlessing, as Alsina had claimed, but during a brief, temporary separation between the married couple.
“One thing I want to clean up… about you giving ‘permission’ which is… the only person that can give permission in that circumstance is myself,” she said.
https://www.facebook.com/redtabletalk/videos/718425758995043/
On Tuesday night, singer August Alsina sent waves through the entertainment industry after claiming in an interview that he carried out an affair with Jada Pinkett Smith , per Complex . During an hour-long interview with Angela Yee to promote his forthcoming album The Product III: stateofEMERGEncy , Alsina sought to clear the air about rumors of a relationship between the couple.
“Contrary to what some people may believe, I’m not a troublemaker. I don’t like drama. Drama actually makes me nauseous. I also don’t think that it’s ever important for people to know what I do, who I sleep with, who I date, right? But in this instance, there are so many people who are side-eyeing me… I’ve lost money, friendships, relationships behind it. And I think it’s because people don’t necessarily know the truth. But I’ve never done anything wrong.”
Alsina added that Will Smith was aware of the relationship, even saying that he was given Will’s blessing and hinting that the Smiths may have an open relationship.
“I actually sat down with Will and had a conversation… He gave me his blessing. And I totally gave myself to that relationship for years of my life, and I truly and really, really, deeply loved and have a ton of love for her (Jada). I devoted myself to it.”
There have been rumors of a secret tryst between Alsina and Smith for years, with the singer’s 2019 song “Nunya” allegedly about the relationship. The music video for the track caused even more whispers, as it features Alsina communicating with someone called “Koren,” which is Smith’s middle name. At the time, Alsina denied that the song was about Smith, saying in an Instagram message that it was “a free artistic expression of a made up narrative already put in place by its ORIGINAL format.” He tagged Smith in the post, describing her as his “BEST.”
Alsina Has Released Three Studio Albums Over His Career
While Alsina’s relationship with Smith has put him in the spotlight, the New Orleans native has carved out a successful career as a singer-songwriter. After relocating to Houston, Texas, following Hurricane Katrina, Alsina began uploading videos of himself singing covers of R&B hits to YouTube. Alsina moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 2011, setting in motion for his career to take off.
After releasing an unheralded and untitled mixtape in 2011, Alsina made a splash when he released his first official mixtape, The Product , in April 2012. He would follow it up in January 2013 when he released the single “I Luv This Sh*t” featuring Trinidad James. The song would become the biggest hit of Alsina’s career, peaking at 48 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and 15 in the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. He built on his momentum by releasing The Product 2 in May 2013.
After wrapping up his 2013 by releasing the Downtown: Life Under the Gun EP in August 2013, Alsina began to promote his debut album Testimony , released in April 2014. Carried by the momentum of lead single “Make It Home” featuring Jeezy, Testimony would debut at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 67,000 copies.
Alsina followed up Testimony with This Thing Called Life in December 2015, which debuted at 14 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 41,000 copies. Alsina’s sophomore slump caused his mainstream career to stall, with the singer not releasing his follow-up album until June 2020, when he independently released The Product III: stateofEMERGEncy.
Alsina Suffers From A Severe Autoimmune Disease
Throughout his career, Alsina has struggled with health issues. In 2014, he collapsed during a concert and was in a coma for three days. In 2015, the singer had to undergo eye surgery as he was at risk of losing his eyesight. As reported by XXL , Alsina came forward in 2017 to reveal that he is suffering from an autoimmune disease that was impacting his liver.
In the Instagram clip, which saw Alsina alongside Smith, the singer says he’s not asking for sympathy while in the caption he expounded on his illness, saying he had a hard time accepting it and that severe illness ran his family. Despite the difficulty of his illness, Alsina vowed to fight and continue creating music.