Raymond v. Raymond

(The original review is HERE, but I added the videos in this post!)



Five-time Grammy winner and multi-platinum recording artist Usher Raymond is best known for topping the charts and giving us albums with the perfect mixture of songs:

* 1 part club banger,
* 2 parts ballad (both the loving and the depressing kind), and
* 1 part baby-makin’ music.

Citing the late Michael Jackson as his greatest influence, it seems Usher has been on the ride of his life, releasing hit after hit. Since MJ’s death, even Jay-Z himself said Usher would become the next King of Pop.

So with his long list of hits and the five-month build up, it would be safe to expect his sixth studio album, Raymond v. Raymond, would deserve pretty high marks, right? 4 stars? A B+?




Well, don’t worry; I was lulled into a false sense of security, too.

Ignoring his first promotional single (you remember that really whiny divorce song that took over radios and TVs for the month of November…), the album seemed promising: three official singles, a great list of producers, and four popular featured artists.

But upon further inspection, it’s clear that looks can be deceiving.

If Usher’s not talking about his personal struggles with relationships (“Papers”), he’s hyping himself up and telling us how great he is at pleasing women (“Mars vs. Venus” and “Hey Daddy”). And if he’s not hyping himself up, he’s talking about all the beautiful women who want to get with him (“So Many Girls”).

You would think there would be a little bit more going on in the mind of a 31-year-old man...

Let’s examine:


#2: Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)
Love the song (… after making myself listen to it three times), but the fact that he has these women calling him 'daddy' is not okay. And I can’t help but feel like he wasn’t really needed for this video. The ladies are the best part. Plus, if he wasn’t in it, I don’t think I would object so much to them crawling on the floor… Ugh.



#4: Lil Freak feat. Nicki Minaj
As much as I dislike Nicki Minaj, I gotta say she really works for this track. And the video fits so well that it actually makes me enjoy the song. (Shout out to Ciara & Jamie Foxx for the random cameos!)



#6: OMG feat. will.i.am
This was a major disappointment. This song is so weak, it sounds like it was added at the last minute. It’s like, “Usher, why would you use so much autotune? You actually know how to sing!”

Best song: Pro Lover
Runners-up: There Goes My Baby, Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home), and Lil Freak

Worst song: OMG
Runners-up: She Don’t Know and Papers

The conclusion I’ve come to: Usher is now all about…

* Wearing flashy sunglasses with sharp outfits,
* Having groups of women crawling (on beds, on floors, on him…),
* Being called “daddy” by said groups of women,
* Drinking expensive alcohol, and
* Putting all his dirty laundry out there for the entire world to enjoy.

I’m pretty sure he thinks all of these add up to him being on his “grown man ish,” but I gotta disagree. Usher isn’t coming off as a leader of the pack; instead he’s trying to keep up with all the youngins (read: Trey Songz), but in the meantime is regressing into a materialistic, narcissistic, complacent popstar. I mean, the only thing I really learned about him was that he was ready to sign them PAPERS!!...papers…papers…

The fact of the matter is that Usher’s at the point where he’ll get mad love no matter WHAT he puts out. Even if he’s just talking about the same old junk or releasing straight up bad music, people will be hype. Jay-Z is the king of this. It's like they’ve gotten so lazy... but no one is calling them out on it.

Long story short: maybe Usher should stop giving all the good songs to his protégé Justin Bieber.

Final grade: C+
(And I think I’m being pretty generous…)


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** Late addition: I just came across this other review & it articulates everything I feel about this album so well: Is Usher Having a Mid-Career Crisis on 'Raymond v. Raymond'? from theBVX.com