Silence in the midst of the storm pretty much defines Usher‘s approach to the herpes scandal that rocked his career last year.
Indeed, the R&B titan has remained mute about the various accusations – from women and men – about him either passing on or exposing them to the disease.
What has been apparent, however, is that the singer has been hard at work on his new album; and he’s lined up longtime collaborators Jermaine Dupri, Bryan Michael Cox, and Rico Love to join him.
During an interview on The Breakfast Club to promote ‘Growing Up Hip-Hop,’ JD was quizzed about the project as well as the drama surrounding Ush. His response awaits below…
When asked about the teasing the record as a the medium by which the superstar will break his silence, Dupri confirmed it will be. He said:
“We’re not playing (about this being ‘Confessions 3’). We’re in the studio, as we speak, right now working on getting this record to where it’s supposed to be.”
He went on to add that they want to re-affix the spotlight on Usher’s music:
“I want to make sure the people are focussing on what they need to be focussing on (the music). Because I don’t want to see Usher get lost in today’s world of the internet. This guy has too much success. He means too much to the culture and too much to Black music to let him get lost out there like that.”
When squarely asked by Charlamagne about whether he asked Usher about whether or not he has herpes, JD offered the following response:
“I asked him everything. I wanted to be clear, because I wanted to be sure that I wasn’t out here pom-pom’ing something that was getting ready to turn around and explode in my face.
No, no, no, no. Have you seen the case that happened with the girl? That case went away. How does that just go away? Did she get Donkey of the Day?
He definitely has a sense of humor and understands that this is the world we live in.”
Closing out the Usher discussion, JD added that:
“The album is going to be…heavy. It’s going to make you go “oh sh*t.””
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Very careful wording across the board.
There are seemingly legitimate legal docs that suggest something is awry.
Nonetheless, in the weirdest, most bizarre “2018” way, Usher might have ironically created the perfect storm of buzz around his next project by saying nothing until it benefits him most.
His last few albums lacked context and failed to spark any conversation (beyond flopping); so this may – in the oddest way possible – be what he….needed.
This of course being contingent on whether there’s actually any truth to the allegations. Which, for his sake, need to not be the case.
Whatever the situation, interesting times lay ahead for Mr Raymond.