Usher - Hard II Love

Usher
Hard II Love
2016
Spotify

When you looks at the list of songs that made Usher famous you'll see a list of dance party hits coupled with fantastic singing. There is no doubt his vocal powers are next level, but He was always a bit funky and always fun. However something happened post Bieber success; the songs slowed down, Usher became more emo, every song became a ballad and the rest of the world got really bored. Even on this new album Hard II Love you would expect some fireworks when Usher and Future team up, but "Rivals" ends up being just another song for Usher to croon over. The same can be said for his collaboration with Young Thug "No Limit", sure He is pouring on the sexiness, but that sound doesn't particularly connect with anyone not trying to fuck him. Though Confessions was one of his most successful albums, and it had it's fair share of ballads as well, there was still some fun intermixed in the record rather than a slog through Usher proving to us just how sexy He is. The song "Bump" hints at a return to his turnt up track with Ludacris and Lil Jon "Yeah", but then ends up being yet another slow jam. It's not to say there is not a place for sensual R&B but even that genre has progressed past Usher in the hand of the Weeknd and Miguel.

What is the most frustrating about the record perhaps is that you KNOW He can do better. Each track flashes Usher's brilliance as a vocalist and performer but they never deliver on those promises. There are plenty of trap beats throughout the album, but none really elevate Usher the way that they should, and He doesn't bring enough energy to pull these slow tracks out of the mire. Confessions worked because it felt so very real, like peering into a man's mind, but that sentiment is not here, no reality just pandering to the ladies in the room. On "Let Me" there is a little snip it of INOJ's "Love You Down" and for 3 seconds the song is better than it ever has been. "Crash" and the D'Mile produced "FWM" are the two bright spots on the record, but they are buried under 13 other tracks of the same. There will be a lot of people who celebrate the honesty and plain speak of this record, which is true Usher does lay it all out on the line here, but to get to those bits of raw emotion you have to push through track after track of very boring music. If Usher wants to ride out his career in low lit rooms singing slow jams that is certainly his right, but with album after album of stuff like this his fan base is sure to migrate to greener more exciting pastures.

3.5 out of 10