HOLLYWOOD -- Tyrese Gibson's rise to fame was not just fast but downright meteoric. The R&B singer, who prefers to be known only as Tyrese, was born and raised in Watts in South Central Los Angeles. He was 14 years old when he won his first music talent contest.

Two years later, he purchased his own house and, at 17, snagged a lucrative modelling contract.

At 19, he released his self-titled debut album and in 2001 was the star of John Singleton's powerful urban drama Baby Boy.

He stars opposite Paul Walker in 2 Fast 2 Furious, which opened Friday. It's the sequel to the illegal street racing drama The Fast and the Furious.

"Since Baby Boy, I've turned down around $15 million worth of movies. I have very high standards. If someone's going to take me out of my world of music for three or four months, it had better be a fantastic offer," says Tyrese.

It wasn't because he was a die-hard fan of The Fast and the Furious that Tyrese agreed to star in its sequel.

"I've never seen the first one. I don't watch movies. I can't sit that long. I have a lot of DVDs at my house, but they're just for guests.

"I did this movie because John Singleton told me it was a good career move and I respect John."

When Vin Diesel pulled out of the 2 Fast 2 Furious, the script was quickly rewritten, introducing a new character named Roman Pearce.

He's an ex-con who went to jail because he refused to finger the real culprits.

"I know where Roman's pain comes from. I've never done time but, being raised in Watts, I have friends who have. I know guys like Roman who did time for someone else's mouth."

Because this is only his second movie, Tyrese pulled punches when it came to acting and character development, but when it came to the cars in the film he knew what he wanted.

Roman drives a Honda 2000 convertible.

"When I got to the set, my car was purple. It had this ugly spider decal on its ugly paint job and it had a bright yellow suede interior," recalls Tyrese.

"I got them to give me better detailing and change the interior to silver suede."

The studio paid for the initial alterations Tyrese wanted, but when it came to the fancy wheels he wanted, the line was drawn.

"I needed my car to be a comfort zone for me. It also had to be sexy so I went out and bought four sets of the wheels I liked because I had four of those cars.

"I got so attached to that car, I ordered a custom one for myself."

Once the car fit like a glove, Tyrese insisted on doing as much of his own driving as the studio's insurance company would allow.

"When it came to the driving, I refused to follow instructions. I did what felt right for me.

"The stunt men thought I was crazy. They used the word wild around me, but I knew they meant crazy."

Word of Tyrese's on-screen charisma quickly spread and soon some of Hollywood's most powerful filmmakers visited the Miami set.

"Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer came to see me. I'd really like to do a movie with them. Michael is educating me on how to get into the $20-million club 'cause that's where I really want to be.

"I'd also like to do a film with Antoine Fugua."

Tyrese even had a visit from Steven Spielberg.

"I saw his E.T. when I was a kid. People were freaking out when Spielberg came to the set and I didn't even recognize him, but we had a good talk."

Tyrese says the real test of 2 Fast 2 Furious will not be whether people believe that he and Paul Walker are actually driving the cars in those mind-boggling stunts.

"Paul's an all-American white boy from the beach and I'm this ghetto black-assed guy from Watts. If we can convince people we grew up together, that's the real magic of the movie."

Tyrese came away from 2 Fast 2 Furious with more than a new car and a new buddy in Walker.

He has formed an alliance with recording star and producer R. Kelly.

"R. Kelly produced the song Pick up the Phone that Ludacris and I do on the 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack. Now R. Kelly and I are going to record a song together and he's going to produce my next album."

Tyrese can hardly wait to get back to a recording studio or to go out on tour.

"Movies are so fake and the business is so fake. It's too easy to believe the hype people throw at you.'

"In the music world you know why your fans are excited so you have a better connection with your career."

Tyrese is a self-trained musician and he's taking the same approach with his film career.

"I'm not going to study acting. I don't want to know too much about making movies. I want it all to be surprising. I feel that's when I do my best work."