Usher

8701

Good when it wants to be

Review Score:

(6/10)
Initially Usher was said to just be something for the ladies. But after his breakthrough sophomore album My Way in 1997, even men on the block were singing his songs. I think the songs he promoted this album with are actually better than the promotional songs from the last album, but unfortunately, the rest of the album doesn't stand out as much.

When it comes to storytelling, Usher does handle things pretty well. "U Got It Bad" is interesting evidence on how a person could be dangerously in love, if you will, and "U Remind Me" reminds us that no matter how hard you try, sometimes bad past relationships can affect possible future relationships. The only story that goes awry is "Good Ol' Ghetto", which is a back-in-the-day-type track. It has a good premise, but the lyrics may rub you the wrong way.

Other standouts on the album include my personal favorite, "Can U Help Me" (finally, the artist releases the best song!), where Usher really shines. Also check out "How Do I Say" and "I Don't Know" featuring P. Diddy. (By the way, P. Diddy has been slowly improving ever since "Diddy", and he doesn't disappoint here.) And although "U Don't Have To Call" is catchy, the production and Usher's adlibs are a little annoying.

And that leads to the bad news. A lot of people think "U Don't Have To Call" is a little too loud, but it sounds quiet compared to some of these other tracks. Thanks to Jermaine Dupri's production, some of the songs are louder, thus making them more annoying than even Rodney Jerkins songs. The best example, "I Can't Let U Go", has Usher and JD literally screaming about a doing-me-wrong girl having a hold on them, and it's accompanied by obnoxiously loud music, which will probably make you say "SHUT UP!" And the lyrics to these tracks aren't that grand either. "Twork It Out" (whatever that means) is about Usher wanting to do up his girl, but first he tries to be a gentleman by saying "How `bout a N fix you something to eat?" Also, he and JD try to introduce a new dance called the "U-Turn", but it's about as relevant as the Casper Slide.

Another concern I have with this album is that Usher spends much of his time unconvincingly telling girls to lose their man and get with him; I say unconvincingly because of the lyrics (you can tell JD wrote them). If Usher wants to have a classic album in the future, he needs to lose him and stay with the better producers, Jam & Lewis (they wrote "Can U Help Me" and "How Do I Say").

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