Truthfully, every genre has its share of acts that sound similar or even exactly the same, whether it’s because like influences spread amongst them, signatures of said genre become overplayed (“the it thing”), or originality goes out the window.
There really is nothing to glean here in singles or otherwise as everything blurs together, but as an album it deserves at least some semblance of observation. Unfortunately, when it comes to anything beyond that ridiculously catchy string of successes and a recent MJ tribute at the 2010 Grammy Awards, Usher is not in prime form here on Raymond Vs Raymond - in fact, had one given this a listen prior to R Kelly’s Untitled, I’d have been hard pressed to catch the difference through a handful of tracks (aside from Usher’s lack of use in the Auto-Tune department). This kid had all the right moves for years, everything between the “Bump & Grind” equivalent “Nice & Slow”, the infectious personal favorite of mine “My Way”, to his Lil’ Jon/Luda collaboration “Yeah”.
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His dance moves mirror Michael Jackson, his movie talent mirrors Mariah Carey, and as he ages, his vocals become less and less distinguishable from R&B headline R Kelly. Looks like we’ll have to wait a while longer for Usher’s first genuine grown-man album.Usher Raymond. After all, it’s one thing to be a drooling booty hound when you’re a hormone-jacked 19-year-old, but quite another when you’re a newly single father of two in your 30s. Nothing else quite lives up to that, and in fact there’s something sad, even a little desperate, about Raymond v. With its Ludacris cameo and constant interjections of “Yeah!”, the latter could be seen as an attempt to evoke past triumphs, but its jackhammering Dirty South–via–South Asia beat is the sort of thing M.I.A.
The album peaks with the one-two punch of “Lil Freak”, a synth-saturated come-on courtesy of Blac Elvis and Polow da Don, and the even better “She Don’t Know”, produced by Sean Garrett and Shondrae “Mr. The 14 tracks here are a mixed bag, however, with the success or failure of each resting with its producer. In fact, the guy is a fantastic singer with a commanding vocal presence, and his voice has matured even as his subject matter has devolved.
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On the Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis–produced slow burner “Pro Lover”, Raymond lays down the ground rules: “As a quid pro quo/We can both come and go/This ain’t about fidelity.” He even works in a sports metaphor that, in the wake of the Tiger Woods sex scandal, seems more than a little icky: “I’m trying to add your name/To my hall of fame/Not just a player, I’m a pro.” Raymond is completely concerned with sex-the pursuit of it (which, let’s face it, probably isn’t much of a challenge for Usher), the act itself, and the strict no-strings-attached policy with which the matter is to be approached. So what’s next for a man freed from the bonds of matrimony? Well, fucking, for one thing, and lots of it. If anything, it’s an anti-apology for having resumed business as usual after the wedding vows: “So what the hell am I gon’ do?/Turn my life around?/It ain’t goin’ down/She knew about the life that I live/Why’s she cryin’ now?” And, despite its title, “Guilty” is no confessional. Amid the digital squiggles of “Papers”, he sounds eager to just get the whole divorce thing over with. It’s impossible to know where the line that separates truth from self-aggrandizement lies, but as he portrays himself on these songs, Usher is unrepentant. There are, in fact, two Ushers on the cover (well, two half-Ushers, at any rate), and the booklet photos show Raymond cavorting with children and praying in a church on one hand, and posing disaffectedly with a topless model on the other. The new disc’s artwork, on the other hand, suggests that the title Raymond v. In between his last record and his latest one, the 31-year-old R&B superstar filed for divorce from Tameka Foster, the mother of his two boys. If you’re wondering how that all turned out, look no further than the title of Usher’s just-released sixth studio album. In 2008, the newly married singer released Here I Stand, touted as his first truly grown-up soul record, on which he purportedly bade farewell to life as a skirt-chaser and embraced his new roles as husband and father. Usher Raymond IV clearly has no qualms about using his personal life as fodder for his songs.
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