![]() Looking 4 Myself shows Usher seemingly at a musical crossroads and the path he took wasn't the smartest choice. Songs like "Lessons For The Lover" and "Twisted" were decent, but the entire album lacks the soul and the fire that My Way, Confessions, and 8701 had, and even lacked some of the smooth elements that made Raymond V. While I didn't mind the singles "Dive" and "Climax", they still pale in comparison to what we know Usher can do as an artist. It is also possible that this was due to personal changes in his life, but whatever the case, production and songwriting faltered here at a serious level. Maybe it was the lack of producers that really fit his style. Perhaps it was a lack of the Dupri collabs that made his music special. His 7th album, and first with RCA Records lacked the very thing that made him the artist he was. Raymond, one would hope his next full length album would be great, but he managed to disappoint once again with the lost, uneven, and aptly titled Looking 4 Myself. With Usher finding a little bit of rhythm again with Raymond V. ![]() Regardless, the album does show a few flashes of brilliance, but not enough to justify this album following the best work of his career. ![]() Whatever the case, Here I Stand misses the mark expected by Usher at this point in his career. Perhaps there are too many producers here that don't necessarily fit him, or maybe his execution was just off. Still, there are some highlights on the album, like the vintage Usher sounding "Appetite" and "Love You Gently", but for the most part, many of the songs here pale in comparison to what we heard in his catalog prior. With his father passing before the album as well, there was a lot surrounding this album and Usher definitely seemed to be struggling during this project. Perhaps for Usher, the battle was internal, as he had a new wife, split with his mom and manager, and seemed heading into the wrong direction. You battle with your own work, you battle with finding the motivation, you battle with outdoing yourself. Trying to recover after releasing the biggest album of the decade and a four year layoff is never easy. There is no album or moment bigger in Usher's career than this one. My favorite tracks are "Caught Up", "Superstar", "Follow Me" (the best song on the album), "Can U Handle It", and "That's What It's Made For", but the entire album plays so well from start to finish. Jermaine Dupri, Just Blaze, Dre & Vidal, and more contribute to the sound of the album, and it all flows fluidly through the duration as there are no skips on this album IMO. This album has such a major impact on the R&B world that it is hard to describe, as Usher would deliver classic after classic on this project. Both singles would become huge hits, as the album would debut with 1.1 million copies sold the first week. With audiences clamoring to hear more new music from him, Usher would debut his new material with a mega single featuring Lil' Jon and Ludacris titled "Yeah", followed by a single that seemingly addresses his breakup on "Burn". With the subject matter centering around the love life of Usher and many other themes involving relationships, things seemed to fall in place perfectly for Usher as his well publicized relationship to Chilli from TLC came to an end. ![]() For one, this album went diamond, which is an impossible feat in music for so many. What more can you say about this album? I mean, 2004 was the year of Usher and he left little room for any other artists to come along and take the spotlight. Perhaps the greatest R&B album of the 2000s.
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