Our boy—ahem, our man—Usher, was in New York recently and
Parlour got the chance to kick it with the triple-threat chiseled
entertainer. Don’t even try escaping his single “Love In This Club,”
and his album, Here I Stand, hits shelves May 27th. With
wall-to-wall club joints and slow jams made for quickies, this latest
disc should knock as hard as its 2004 predecessor Confessions.
But there’s a more mature Usher at its helm. It’s still the same Ursh
who used to drop his pants during shows, except he’s married now (for
which he’s attracted some hate) and just had his first child, Usher
Raymond IV. Along with addressing the haters, Usher also let Parlour in
on the mind state of a married man and how he’s getting better with age. Parlour: Where’ve you been hiding? Usher: I need you to miss me [he smiles]. If I stay
in your face all the time you’ll get tired of seeing me. I went to
Broadway (Chicago, the musical), did a movie. I had a label and still
do. But when I’m in another area of entertainment I’m missing what I do
the most. So I’ll be on stage playing Billy Flynn but singing records
that I came up with or doing new dance choreography. Or if I’m on the
set and supposed to be in character, I’m somewhere off in the corner
singing and dancing. P: How has your marriage and fatherhood affected your music? U: This album, to me, is a staple in time. I like
to make music about where I am, but I also try to make records that
will be like soundtracks to life. So that people will be able to relate
to them, maybe one day grow from them, learn, love from ‘em. This one
particularly is more special than all of the others. I know it sounds
cliché to say that! But honestly it’s the pivotal moment for me as an
artist, as well as a husband in a way, and a father. These are all new
journeys for me, the most meaningful, because they’re the most
rewarding. P: How exactly have you grown? U: The knowledge that rests in the mistakes slowly
but surely become wisdom, so that’s really the process that I’m going
through as a man. Where I stand as a husband, as a father, as an
individual, as a businessman, is all a testimony to what I’ve been
through and where I’ve been. SOURCE:PARLOUR MAGAZINE