Scream As Loud As You Can, Because Usher's New Music Video, "Scream" is Out Now!
SM IE
IT’S 
BUZZ!
USHER
“SCREAM”
Video Premiere
Out Now!
Usher’s new album
Looking 4 Myself
Also Checkout These Awesome Press Coverage
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http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/music/flocka_so_so_beats_TPK2mD0c3Khkg517nCrcAO
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Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Review: Usher's "Looking 4 Myself" Dares To Be Different
http://www.complex.com/music/2012/06/review-usher-looking-4-myself
Album:
Usher's Looking 4 Myself (RCA)
Price: $9.99
✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✩✩
Score: 8/10
One of the first things Usher says on Looking 4 Myself, his seventh album (out today), is a question, delivered offhandedly in third person. “Will he do it again,” the multi-platinum singer asks, as if—after nearly 20 years in the business—he still wonders whether he can deliver another set worth repeated listens.
It's a fair question. As a performer whose catalog is rooted in R&B, a traditional (if not sometimes boring) genre that rarely aims for the avant-garde, Usher managed to find a new groove in 2010 with the release of Raymond v. Raymond. It was a well-balanced offering that held down his “true R&B” fans with cuts like “There Goes My Baby” and “Papers,” but blew up by riding the Euro train with will.i.am's unapologetically huge “OMG.”
If Usher dipped his toe in the pool of global sounds on Raymond, he dives right in on Looking. Hardly any of the 14 tracks on the standard version of the album (there are 18 on the deluxe) sound like conventional R&B. Everything is splashed with a hint of something spacey or foreign.
“I Care 4 You,” a creeping confessional where Usher’s a man in love but unable to show it, plays like a trippy video game where the hero is trapped in a swamp of indecision. Though its a few beats-per-minute short of a typical club cut, “Show Me” is still a huge song that promises to fill up dance floors with its tooting synths and rolling drums. “Dive” is a sexy slow-winding cut, damp with yearning, that's powered by Usher’s falsetto.
At first listen, the album’s lead single “Climax”—a quiet take at techno by producer Diplo—sounds like a song for lovers. But really, it’s the best breakup cut of 2012. This “climax” isn’t orgasmic, it’s about being on the other side of the relationship’s peak. In fact, most of the tracks on Looking offer deeper meanings than the obvious. But even the surface-level songs like “Lemme See” and “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” are gems.
Usher’s new mantra, “Evolve or evaporate,” is an aggressive one. Fortunately, he continues to explore. Looking 4 Myself ensures that he won’t be disappearing any time soon.
Written by Brad Wete (@BradWete)
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Monday, June 11, 2012
‘Looking 4 Myself’: Usher’s best album since 2004’s ‘Confessions’
By Sarah Godfrey
There is a battle for the soul of R&B being waged by two musical camps: revivalists who are keeping the genre tied to its roots by creating music that borrows heavily from classic R&B, and futurists who are fond of imbuing R&B with electronic dance elements that take the music to an entirely new place. The superstar Usher has been pulled in both directions for years — for every house-leaning track, such as the David Guetta-produced “Without You,” or dance track, such as “OMG,” there was a more traditional entry along the lines of “There Goes My Baby” or “Daddy’s Home.”
“Looking 4 Myself,” the singer’s best album since 2004’s near-perfect “Confessions,” is less concerned with inclusion of both styles and more focused on seamlessly integrating them.
Yes, some of the music skews club (“Scream”), and other songs could be classified as soul balladry (“What Happened to U”), but all of the tracks attempt a mix. The best do it incredibly well.
The jewel is the already ubiquitous, surprisingly soulful “Climax,” which is about the end of a relationship and not, as people who haven’t listened to the lyrics insist, doing it. Usher’s shimmering falsetto highs and big power notes are enveloped by a track from M.I.A. producer and Mad Decent honcho Diplo. The composition manages to be one of the most delicate and nuanced of the producer’s career without abandoning the throb for which he is known.
“I Care For U,” an atmospheric Danja track, shows that busy production can be just as much of a sexy backdrop for soulful vocals as more sparse compositions. The Will.I.Am-produced “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop” is high-powered, but an electronic rendering of the “whoa oh oh” bridge of Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” mellows things out a little. The Neptunes-produced “Twisted” is probably the most interesting blend — think Chad Hugo in the studio with Chubby Checker. The song incorporates bass and synth with elements of ’60s dance craze songs like “The Twist” or “Shake a Tail Feather,” showing that when it comes to R&B, honoring the past and looking to the future isn’t an either/or proposition.
Godfrey is a freelance writer.
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Pondra Novara Priyono
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