Usher is one of a few R&B acts from the ‘90s who has gone on to become a global superstar. Since the start of his 30-year career, Usher has sold over 65 million records worldwide. He’s also starred in the Broadway musical Chicago, been a coach on The Voice, and recently has added a Las Vegas residency to his long list of artistic achievements.
LISTEN NOW: Broken Record - Usher
On a brand new episode of Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam, and Justin Richmond, Usher talks with Justin about songwriting, working with producer Jermaine Dupri on his 2004 album, Confessions, how Quincy Jones has helped him maintain a level of sophistication throughout his career, and why he thinks his first single was too raunchy... among other things.
With Justin mentioning his “ready-made” level of sophistication from the start, Usher noted that all comes from a good “work ethic” and who you surround yourself with. “You wanna be great, you gotta surround yourself around great people — LA Reid, Sean “Puffy” Combs, Jermaine Dupri, Dallas Austin…”
Looking back at “all the records and the things I’ve been able to create, I got a really dope clique of people who have been a part of legacy. It ain’t just one person, it’s an entire world of people who have all of these different views of R&B and Hip-Hop and the way they play with it.”
One of those people happened to be Quincy Jones, with whom he formed “a really great friendship” after first meeting at a Tommy Hilfiger fashion show. “He’s been a Godfather to me,” Usher shared, “and my conversations with him, believe it or not, were not about music as it was ‘what is your contribution to life,’" inspiring his involvement in philanthropy, and “advocating for things that do matter and will matter for generations to come.”
“I think Puffy was ahead of his time in terms of what he created with my first album,” Usher expressed, additionally noting, “it might have just been a little too mature.” While these days the level of raunchy explicit material has reached the levels of “WAP” and beyond, Usher believes back then, "Can U Get Wit It" was "a bit much for a fifteen-year-old to say.”
After discussing how his Las Vegas residency has inspired new music and a forthcoming new album at the top of the episode, Usher eventually got to looking back at how a major motivator in his songwriting while working with Jermaine on Confessions came from “living in this place of conflict,” and “finding ways” to convey and “articulate” it.
For all that and more, press play above to listen to the entire interview.
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