USHER - singer and actor Usher Raymond - Brief Article - Interview

HE'S GOT THE PECS AND THE MOVES. HE CAN ALSO SING THE PANTS OFF HIS PEERS

Usher Raymond IV has certainly packed a lot into twenty-two years. He went from Chattanooga choirboy to Star Search winner to a LaFace Records contract, all by age thirteen. By fifteen, the fickle finger of fame coldcocked him when the much-touted Puffy-produced Usher went nowhere, puberty messed with his voice, and acne claimed his skin. Come 1997, with a retrained voice and a new producer, Jermaine Dupri, My Way was released--and the fates smiled. The double Grammy-nominated disk went multi-platinum, fueled by mega-hits "You Make Me Wanna" and "Nice and Slow." He's been racking up movie and TV credits ever since. In Manhattan, on the eve of his third release, All About U (LaFace/Arista), we are met by a confident, tattooed hunk clad in gorgeous black leather and dripping in diamonds. He certainly gives hope to all youth going through that "awkward stage."

ANITA SARKO: Great pants.

USHER: Thank you. Francois Girbaud. I am designer fashion-forward. Helmut Lang, Gucci, Fendi, fur coats, leathers, diamonds, really nice cars. I'm a flamboyant type of guy, a cooler version of Liberace.

AS: [laughs] How many diamonds are in that amazing bracelet?

U: Two or three thousand. It's a shackle, a symbol of slavery. I'm a slave to the rhythm.

AS: It took a lot of rhythm to get that! Why was All About U delayed?

U: We had so many songs to choose from. I have a lot to show the world. I'm definitely different from any artist. I create trends. My style of music is something that you've never heard. It's called Hip Pop. Usher is the King of Hip Pop.

AS: Let's take a trip through your career.

U: I did my first album, Usher, with Puffy. I moved to New York and did the things that Puffy did. It wasn't me, but definitely gave me a sense of what the industry was about and which way I didn't want to go. I want to have a good time, but to do records that spoke so provocatively of sex at that age--it didn't fit. Kids couldn't relate. That's why it didn't work. I had no say as to how I sang or what I sang about. It wasn't till My Way that everything made sense. When Jermaine Dupri--who produced the record--is very serious and committed, he becomes the artist: I lived with him and he wrote as if he's me. As a performer, I knew there was nobody who could touch me, but I didn't know what would make hit records. I wrote on that record; I told stories that I experienced myself, that everybody could relate to. On All About U we took the same approach, but edgier.

AS: You also act. I loved you in The Faculty.

U: That was the beginning. I never got into the music business to act, but a door opened and my plan to be seen as an ultimate entertainer began to unfold.

AS: Tell me about Texas Rangers, which is slated for early 2001.

U: It's a very intense Western with James van der Beek and Dylan McDermott about a secret special force formed after the Civil War to stop thugs from hustling cattle across the border into Mexico. My character is stuck with this stereotype of not being worth anything because he's black.

AS: Did you know how to ride a horse?

U: No.

AS: But when they asked, you replied...

U: "Of course I ride!" I did a great job. I'm a bad ass in that field.

AS: You really missed out on being a kid.

U: I find ways to compensate. I play Solitaire on my computer, checkers, board games, build puzzles or pick up a Bop-It toy. Video games are great stress relievers and get me back to the days that I miss where I wanted to just do nothing but play games, go to school, do my homework.

AS: Were you tutored?

U: Yes. However, I spent more time preparing for now. But how can you prepare for it? I didn't know that I would have so much success and so many people relying on me. You have to be focused. I've always loved the music and it was never for money. When that came, it didn't affect me. I'm still the same charming nice guy when I first meet people.

AS: Your momma brought you up right.

U: [Although] I used to steal my mom's car. [laughs]

AS: Did you get caught?

U: Never! But I bought my mom cars, too: an Explorer, a Mercedes, a VW Bug, and a Jag. But I used to steal the Sabre, mom!

AS: She'll forgive you.

Frequent Interview contributor Anita Sarko is currently remixing Petula Clark's color My world."

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