Tuesday, February 14, 2012
New Music Diplo and Usher 'Climax' together
Posted by Rodney Carmichael @Rappin_Rodney on Tue, Feb 14, 2012 at 3:44 PM
Sorry for the title. It ain't that kinda collabo. Just havin' a little V-Day-themed fun with SEO! But I am kinda vibing off this newly-gone-viral pairing between international beatsmith Diplo and ATL lovermane Usher.
Diplo's one of several producers enlisted to help Usher reclaim the R&B throne by gussying up his dated, radio-friendly sound with some new wave oomph. The rest of the shortlist includes Pharrell, Jim Jonsin, and Rico Love — the latter two being responsible for "There Goes My Baby," the 2011 Grammy-winning hit from Usher's last album, Raymond v. Raymond. For his part, Usher revamps the same falsetto here that made that song a standard.
It's almost hard to believe that Usher's next LP, projected for a 2012 release, will be his seventh. That makes him two years shy of 20 years in the biz. Since the success of his diamond-selling Confessions (2004), Usher's foothold on pop/R&B's top spot has gradually slipped to young gunners Trey Songz and Chris Brown. Meanwhile, R&B's own extended makeover has been led by such next level electro-tweakers as the Weeknd and Frank Ocean. Considering the landscape, it would seem that Usher has a helluva hill to climb to regain past prominence, if not future relevance. All of which makes a collabo with Diplo — who's remarkably maintained his hipster cred as long as Usher has his pop-darling status — all the more plausible. Make that, very necessary.
s/o: Fader
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