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Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ star Tituss Burgess creates new music at home

The world got to know Tituss Burgess as a hilarious roommate and best friend on “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” Now Burgess is making new music, and he’s part of a new animated series on Apple TV+.

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By Madeleine Brand • May 18, 2020 • 1 min read

The world got to know Tituss Burgess as the hilarious roommate/best friend Titus Andromedon on Netflix’s “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” Before then, Burgess had a career on Broadway, where he delighted audiences as Sebastian in “The Little Mermaid.”

Now Burgess is making new music, and he’s part of a new animated series on Apple TV+. He’s also the host of a show on Quibi, the new short-form mobile video platform.

Burgess tells Press Play that music was his entry into the entertainment industry. “I was a choir director at my church when I was a child [age 12], and this little bubbly black boy telling adults what to do didn’t fare well all the time. But when you’re out of tune, you’re out of tune,” he says.

He’s coming out with a single called “Dance M.F.” Why did he decide to do dance music?

He says, “The world needs to compartmentalize in an attempt to know where to place things, and know how to understand things. Tituss doesn’t need to do that. So I didn’t just wake up and decide to do a dance track. I just wrote a song, and it turned out to be a dance track,” he says.

Burgess says he’s working on several songs to accompany “Dance M.F.”

At this time, does he miss being around others or being on a set? “I miss filming a whole, whole lot. … Do I miss being with a lot of people? Not so much. I’m an introvert. So I much enjoy my alone time. So in some ways, I’m able to make do during this time better than other extroverts,” he says.

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    Madeleine Brand

    Host, 'Press Play'

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    Sarah Sweeney

    Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

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    Michell Eloy

    Line Editor, Press Play

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    Amy Ta

    Digital News & Culture Editor

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    Tituss Burgess

    actor and singer

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