![]() ![]() Born Usher Raymond IV in 1978, and raised in Chattanooga and Atlanta, USHER started his career at age 10, making the rounds and honing his craft on Atlanta-area talent shows. A pop star who’s hovered in the spotlight for three decades running, with little sign of slowing down. It turns out, USHER might be the closest thing we have to Jackson since Jackson himself-a singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and consummate performer whose appeal seems to transcend genre and demographics. “I love you!” USHER replied, pointing back. USHER juked, Jackson followed suit, the two traded moves. Now with proven juggernauts in his corner, USHER was becoming the model for a young star in the genre-clean cut, a big smile, designer goggles cocked to the side of his head, and a voice that resonated with Black youth.įew moments define USHER's career quite like that night in September 2001, when he stood opposite Michael Jackson at a sold-out Madison Square Garden and shared a dance. All throughout My Way, it became clear that he was more than the potential that was teased a few years prior. And a Lil’ Kim appearance on “Just Like Me” provided USHER with useful grit. “Slow Jam,” a cover of a song that Babyface wrote for Midnight Star in the ’80s, recruited another teenage R&B phenom in Monica for a sultry ballad. A sweet falsetto, guitar strums that acted as ad libs, and dramatic heavy breathing helped “Nice & Slow” effectively melt the hearts of teenage girls through Walkman headphones and radio speakers. ![]() On the album’s single “You Make Me Wanna…” USHER convincingly built on the soul music tradition of bellowing out to a prospective lover who makes you reconsider the lackluster relationship you’re currently enduring. His sophomore album, My Way, traded those overtly hip-hop beats from The Hitmen for more fitting silky arrangements from Dupri and R&B maestro Babyface, which made a world of difference. When he returned three years later in 1997 with a deeper voice, a jawline that was no longer boyishly round, and musical direction from Atlanta producer extraordinaire Jermaine Dupri, the Usher Raymond we’ve grown to know and adore was introduced to the world. His 1994 self-titled debut was foundational in furthering Combs’ development of a new R&B sound that took production cues from hip-hop, but much of the album felt like an artist figuring out his sound in real time. Under the tutelage of Sean “Diddy” Combs, USHER entered public consciousness in the early ’90s as a smooth, baby-faced teenager whose lack of vocal bass didn’t quite match up with the sexual undertones of his music. More than any of his albums before it, 8701 framed an USHER for the future, an artist who’d developed all the necessary tools during his early years but was now ready to crystallize those into something full-proof. The swing and funk interwoven into the production of “Good Ol’ Ghetto” channels the butter-smooth personas of Southern heavyweights of the day like 8Ball & MJG or UGK. “I Don’t Know,” for instance, features a barrage of intergalactic synths from The Neptunes while Diddy offers some conversational swaggering, and USHER’s angelic falsetto adds dimension it’s the kind of song that you run back a few times to focus on a different element of its DNA. ![]() Some of 8701’s marquee moments place you squarely in the center of an intensely lit dance floor, hazy from sweat and mist. USHER’s conviction in moments like these suggests that he’s pulling from a real place, but the album isn’t just delightful because he’s more seasoned in terms of heartache. Over faint acoustic guitar, “U Got It Bad” captures the tension of a topsy-turvy love where petty, explosive arguments turn into longing for resolution. The album’s lead single “U Remind Me,” with its fluttering chords, finds USHER mesmerized by a potential lover, but her similarities to an ex that broke his heart sours his attraction. And with that new milestone came music that detailed the experiences of a young man who was starting to see the ups and downs of the prospective love that he’d passionately sought out up to this point. After spending the ’90s as one of the country’s top teenage R&B sweethearts, full of uncompromising hormones and temptation, USHER reemerged in 2001 with his third studio album, 8701-his first artistic offering as a non-teenager. ![]()
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