Usher Raymond's 2010 album Raymond v. Raymond wasn't particularly memorable, but it did provide a platform for an up-and-coming rapper named Nicki Minaj. On the single "Lil Freak", cut in the early stages of her tear as an unassailable feature rapper, Minaj delivered one of the more remarkable verses of that year, rapping that she'd take girls "to go see Usher... like Santa I keep a vixen" before reeling off the names of all seven reindeer at a cadence that seemed inhuman. On his own song, Usher himself was pushed to the sideline by an artist on the fast track to superstardom. Given the weakness of the record as a whole, you had to wonder if we were witnessing a fading star content to go through the motions. For over a decade, Usher had a remarkable run of slow-burning R&B singles and clattering club hits like 2001's "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad", 2004's "Confessions Part II" and Lil Jon crunk-anthem collaboration "Yeah!". But on Raymond vs. Raymond, an album recorded on the heels of a divorce, Usher felt uncharacteristically flat and aimless.
Fast-forward two years, to the closing track of Usher's new LP, Looking 4 Myself. Here, another upstart New York rapper riffs on Minaj's "Lil Freak" verse: "Go Nicki Minaj flow when I hit the verse-uh/ If you let me ménage/ I'll take you to see Ursher," raps A$AP Rocky. But whereas Minaj was the centerpiece of "Lil Freak", Rocky-- along with a whole pack of very of-the-moment collaborators found on Looking 4 Myself-- plays a supporting role to Usher. The singer has clearly found a groove as a reinvigorated leading man, and at 33 years old and seven albums in, Usher's showing just how well he can adapt to a slippery contemporary pop landscape. Along with a cast that includes everyone from Diplo and Noah "40" Shebib to Rick Ross and Pharrell, Usher offers up a sharp new collection that serves as a fresh sampler of a smattering of genres, from slick R&B to electronic dance pop to funk.
Since it's packed with so many guests and touches on so many styles, Looking 4 Myself invites skepticism. On paper, it looks like an artist throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, but Usher mostly transcends charges of dilettantism. The opening track, "Can't Stop Won't Stop", for instance, builds like a throwaway Eurodance arena anthem, but instead of exploding into oblivion after the breakdown it splits into a fizzy and wonky slap of a beat. Part of the success is due to Usher's vocal virtuosity, which in places reaches Michael Jackson-levels of purity. On ballad "Dive", he uses shamelessly literal and explicit lyrics that might make you cringe if they'd come from of anyone else: "It's raining inside your bed/ No parts are dry/ Lovin' made you so wet/ Your Legs/ Your thighs," he sings. His vocal mastery allows him to carry a cornball verse like that and transform the song into something more specific, as if he were addressing just one woman instead of delivering a pre-packaged ballad for the ladies.
Still, Usher's strength lies in R&B, and he's adjusted well to shifting ground. Since Raymond vs. Raymond, artists like Drake, the Weeknd, and Frank Ocean have developed darker and more atmospheric strains and attracted listeners who previously avoided the genre. Usher excels on a few songs here that cover similar ground, like the dark click-popper "Lessons for the Lover" and "What Happened To U", a velvety track sung mostly in falsetto helmed by Drake and Weeknd producer Noah "40" Shebib. Hearing those songs, it feels like some of the younger artists might have learned a thing or two from Usher when they were formulating their own styles. So while he could have come off as an artist trying to keep up with the kids in that realm, Usher seems instead like an elder statesman with a keen ear for the right collaborators, particularly in choosing Diplo on his surprising lead single "Climax".
At 18 tracks, not everything on Looking 4 Myself hits the mark, and the album drags on longer than it should. Where the experimentation often succeeds, the editing fails. Usher sounds most uncomfortable and the least sharp on overblown club tracks with long, faceless lists of European producers (see "Euphoria" and "Numb"), and the presence of rote numbers is almost comically predicable. These grabs at low-hanging fruit aside, Usher serves as a good reminder that it's possible to cater to the demands of a discombobulated industry and come out on top.
