Rapper Gucci Mane is getting ready to release his new studio album The State vs Radric Davis and the first single from that album is entitled “Spotlight”. The song features Usher and is produced by Polow Da Don. According to MissInfo the video was shot yesterday in Atlanta by director Benny Boom.
Now this is not grimey or gritty in anyway. It is a tame song fit for the radio. Usher sings the hook, in which he does his job quite neatly. A lot of people complain that Polow’s production is always recycled but he is one producer whose sound we don’t mind, for now. Also, we’re slowly getting into Mane’s music before we thought he was a gimmick; starting with that Gucci name but he does have a, dare we say it, “swag.” The album drops sometime in December.
Anticipated much? Today the first single, “Papers”, from Usher’s sixth studio album, Raymond vs. Raymond to be released December 8, premiered today.
Penned by Sean Garrett and produced by Zaytoven, Usher has returned with a lead single that sticks to his R&B roots. After a very public divorce from his wife, Usher went straight into the studio to work on this album in hopes that this personal struggle will do for this album what a past struggle did for Confessions.
The song is Usher pouring his heart out to masses stating “I Damn Near Lost My Mama” and that although he portrayed a happy relationship to the public it was quite the opposite. The song is very good and despite our opinion of how tacky it is to put something so personal out there for the sake of helping your career along we think this will give Usher another fan favorite. Fear not because Raymond vs. Raymond is here to rescue you all from the lackluster Here I Stand.
Here’s another exclusive from the DJ Haze – Big R&B Ego mixtape. This song from Usher, entitled “Be”, was produced by Ryan Leslie and is probably to make the final track listing for Monster.
MATURE! Now this is real contemporary R&B. This is something a middle aged couple would truly enjoy on a dinner date. Ryan Leslie created a subtle instrumental to back Usher’s falsettos and harmonies. A few more tracks like this plus a handful of experimentation and maybe Usher can bounce back from Here I Stand. Take a listen to this as we slow dance into the outro.
Over the last week Billboard has released micro-interviews with Pharrell discussing many interesting topics. He gives his view on the aesthetics of Susan Boyle, venturing into the marketing industry, Usher’s upcoming Monster album, Shakira’s beauty as inspiration amongst other things, so check them out. Pharrell is comical and has view is very insightful.
In the video above Pharrell discusses the heightened level of competition thanks to such sites as Youtube, etc… He makes a great point, it is always good to have an education to fall back on even if it’s just a high school diploma. Especially since it seems with every generation, the artists’ age becomes younger and younger in order to reach success. But on the contrary if you or someone else do not have that education you can still make it, it may take 50x the effort but you can. Look at Whoopi Goldberg, she was a high school drop-out and to us she has a lot more wisdom and intelligence than some who continue on to a post-college education. In conclusion we say this to not let what works for others determine your path.
His views on Susan really opened our eyes. Aesthetics will be the death of music. Well not entirely but it seriously has gotten to a point where image is the main thing that matters. Look at some of today’s top (by top we mean popular) female performers. Without that fashion and glamor they would be nothing. It’s no wonder models aren’t on the covers anymore, that was their job and it was overtaken by the musicians and actors.
I found this one appealing as marketing has my interest. So it was great to get someone’s viewpoint who has already taken a dive head-first into the business and experienced first hand what works and what doesn’t without compromising his vision.
Who wouldn’t be inspired by Shakira? It just goes to show that people with an eye for art are addicted to true beauty and why not let that assist you with with your project.
I hope that was a sign that The Neptunes bring back their edgy urban sound that’s been missing for a couple of years.
After being highly let down by Here I Stand, seriously “Love In This Club” was the only song that was hit material, it seems Usher may grant us a gift this year with Monster.
