Ckc4's Blog

Usher’s Raymond vs. Raymond, a dissapointment | April 5, 2010

I may be different from a lot of music listeners because I do not hate change. Yes, there are times when change is too drastic and causes a complete transformation in style or integrity, but I can appreciate slow change that is natural. I guess instead of change, maturation would be a better suited word. Well, in the case of Raymond vs. Raymond, my final verdict is…dissapointment. Don’t get me wrong, although I have not really liked every single song from Usher, I do like and appreciate a lot of his work. Usher’s 6th studio album, in my very own opinion, was a lot of hype for another CD of songs that sound just like the music being played on the mainstream radio today. To Usher’s defense, there are a few songs that I thought were not bad. “Papers,” “There Goes My Baby” and “Foolin Around” were three decent songs on the album that I wouldn’t mind listening to. One word can describe the remaining songs…repetitive. Usher is thirty one years old and has been in the R&B game since 1994. It has been 16 years since Usher’s debut and the content and style of the music has remained the same. I was honestly a little hopeful for a more slow-jam and soulful oriented album because Usher’s last studio effort was very good. On the end of Usher’s last album was an incredible song entitled, “Here I Stand,” which took me by total surprise and led me to believe Usher would be leaning towards that style of music. However, I searched track after track for a song that even resembled “Here I Stand” and could not find one. I feel Usher still has some more growing to do, because he is getting older and the content of his music is still the same now as it was 16 years ago. You need proof? Listen to the track “Lil Freak” off this latest album. This whole ranting may be my own selfish desire, but hey, this is my honest opinion. If you have the time, listen to his new album and tell me what you think. Below is a video of “Papers,” which is a decent song on the album.
<