Usher |
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Wed. March 03.2004 12:00 AM EST |
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Usher: The Last Soul ManR&B master stumps for the old school. He talks about break-up songs, pop's shock value, and getting crunky with it. by Brian Ives & C. Bottomley |
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(Gregg Delman/mtv.com) |
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It was once suggested that young Usher Raymond might be the successor to Michael Jackson, but it's clear he's gone much further than that. Usher is the total soul man package: a sweet voice, hip dance moves and a chest more ripped than a He-Man
His new single "Yeah" gives the letter U stuff a rest, but its blend of R&B and Atlanta's "crunk" sound has continued Usher's chart reign. Lil Jon and Ludacris help out on the club-friendly hit, but the forthcoming album Confessions tones down the party vibe - this time out Usher's involved in some introspection. Inspired by his recent split with TLC's Chilli, the singer gets pained and passionate on songs like "Burn." Helped by an army of marquee producers that includes the Neptunes and Jam & Lewis, Usher is staying up with the trends while digging deep into the essentials of great soul music. He told VH1 about his fitness regimen, his take of the Janet Jackson scandal, and why it's time R&B went back to basics. VH1: How does it feel to be known as having the best abs in show business? Usher: Hard work truly does pay off! As a kid I'd see Marky Mark or Randy Jackson, who had a ridiculous six pack … There were so many guys who had these six packs, and that was something that I wanted to work on. So I started a long time ago in hopes that this day would come, where I could be recognized for my hard work on my abs. VH1: How has your workout regime changed over the years? Usher: My workout has gone from physical to mental. I went from doing like a thousand push-ups a day to now barely making a hundred, because I'm always working. I'm not gonna say I'm chubby, fat or out of pocket. I'm looking good! But you have to be more selective about how you eat. VH1: So what's your diet like? U: I'm on a see-food diet, right now - I see it, I eat it. In a second, I'll go back. I'm very disciplined. When I don't want to eat, I won't eat. I go on a fish, chicken and broccoli diet, and throw in some carbs - preferably sweet potatoes. Unless I'm near Mister Chows. Whenever I'm near Mister Chows, I lose myself. I have to have that mandarin dessert! VH1: Tell me about the first single, "Yeah." U: "Yeah" features Ludacris and Lil Jon. You hear me say, "Peace up, A-town down." That's the official sign to let you know it's an ATL invasion. VH1: You've said that you're strictly an R&B artist, though, not hip-hop. U: The collaboration of these three great energies in hip hop, music and R&B made "Yeah" what it is. I want hip-hop fans to love it. I want R&B fans to love it. That's why "Yeah" has so many different elements. I'm conducting myself as an artist would in everything that I do: I try to think outside the box. [Watch Clip] VH1: How does that filter through to the album, Confessions? U: I chose to deal with a lot of different producers that understood how to interpret R&B from a jazz standpoint, an old school throwback standpoint, a new school point, a traditional classic standpoint … The collaboration of all those ideas make up what my album is about. VH1: "Yeah" sounds like the first crunk/R&B song. U: You know what's funny, though? Me and Jon worked together a long time ago - before crunk really took off. Him having such a huge success with crunk music made our team-up more attractive, or made it an eye jerk - like, "Lil Jon and Usher? What?" But I love to be right in the middle of what's hot. No one had done a crunk R&B record, and that's what we wanted. VH1: There's less dancing than usual in the video. U: I chose to give you more of a narrative than dance in this video. I wanted to give you the story of "Yeah" and what it is, how it happened, what it was, and then also give you the dance. There is a big dance number at the end of the video where we all come together and in our own ATL style, we give it to you. We get crunk. You know what I'm talking about? [Watch Clip] VH1: Confessions sounds like it's your break-up record. U: Breaking up is a natural evolution when you try to figure out what you want in life. If you're with an individual who isn't moving in the same direction and at the same rate that you are, it ain't going to work. VH1: But it's not that easy to get over it. U: No, because it's going to burn. You've gotten attached, you love that person. You spent the utmost respect, time and dedication to try to create a comfortable relationship for that person. It didn't work, so it burns. I've been known for doing records like that. I did "U Got It Bad" because me and the person that I dealt with had broken up not too long ago. So when we created this record, we thought, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." VH1: The lyrics seem more painful in "Burn" than any of your other breakup songs. Is that a product of getting older? U: I wrote "Burn" a year ago, so I didn't write it about my current situation. But it does apply in a way. It's a product of growing up. No one can really explain that gut-wrenching feeling you feel when you're going through it, when you figured, "I thought that this was my soul mate. I thought I found the person who had it and I thought I could be that person, too." You've gotta go through something to get to something sometimes. My mom always said, "If there were no humps in life, there would be nothing to get over." VH1: Did you hesitate to write personal lyrics this time because everyone would be speculating? U: I didn't care about that. I feel like it takes real situations to make real music. I wrote not just about my most recent relationship, but relationships that go back and issues that happened three, four years ago, that I just locked away. I came to the reality that you can't really be right for anyone until you get right by yourself. Michael Jackson said it best, "You start with the man in mirror." The truth will set you free. VH1: What did you think of the Janet Jackson farrago? U: I saw the incident. First and foremost, I was shocked, because I cannot believe that Janet would show her t*ttie on a show like that. That's a family show. It was a hot move, no doubt about it, but it was the wrong timing. It kind of pissed me off, because I'm looking at TV, and I notice that every performance is built off of shock value. What about the entertainment of it? [Watch Clip] VH1: What do you think the state of R&B and soul is in 2004? U: It's almost as if R&B is running away from the classic way of looking at art or music. Stevie Wonder and the greats are probably looking at the industry saying, "Wow, I guess hip hop is the new pop or R&B." No, R&B has a face; R&B has a name. I don't mind being the sole [representative] for it. I'm going to give you what I feel is real and what made me love music. VH1: Where else do you hear that kind of reality? U: R&B needs someone who can say, "Look, this is what it is and this is how you create it." You can hear those influences in the music. If it's not Michael Jackson, if it's not Quincy Jones, if it's not Stevie Wonder, if it's not Marvin Gaye, if it's not Sam Cooke, if it's not Sly & the Family Stone, if it's not Smoky Robinson, if it's not The Four Tops, if it's not … You need to reestablish R&B in a classical sense. VH1: I was listening to Sam Cooke the other day, and I was just like - wow! U: It's timeless! I miss turning on the radio and hearing songs that were uplifting, records that were honest. I can't forget what made me love music. I can't forget being five years old and looking around and seeing everybody have a good time listening to James Brown, Otis Redding, listening to all those great singers that just made you love music, that made you love life, or made you have a voice to speak! VH1: People forget how R&B was once as articulate and contemporary as rap music. U: It ain't soft to be R&B. Who ever said that? Maybe hip-hop said that, but that ain't true. R&B ain't never been soft. Sly & the Family Stone weren't soft. Was Barry White soft? No! He was a cold piece! He made you understand the game. Was Curtis Mayfield soft? No, he was your "Pusher Man"! Maybe we need to really recognize where music is going, and how important R&B is. |
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