Ok, so let's get this cleared up straight off the bat... This ain't no Confessions. Usher has returned to reclaim his crown of old. You know the one; the cashed up, booty tappin', colla poppin prince of RnB. However, my confusion lies in the fact that he has regressed to try and be what he was in his Confessions era rather than move forward and show his fans and the music industry his growth. He has settled to stay in the past as a prince rather than embracing his potential to become a king. But I digress...
There is nothing technically wrong with Raymond Vs Raymond and for all intents and purposes, there shouldn't be due to the production team behind it. From Jermaine Dupri, will.i.am, Polow da Don to Timbaland's protégé Danja, Usher has enlisted the heavy weights to ensure it would be a bonafide hit. And the investment has paid off, at least commercially.
With radio friendly hits such as OMG (feat will.i.am), There Goes my Baby, Hey Daddy (Daddy's home), Raymond Vs Raymond has been a crowd pleaser for fans who didn't appreciate the more mature direction of Here I Stand (2008). In an interview Usher promoted Raymond Vs Raymond as "racy, risky, edgy and sometimes about personal experiences". These personal experiences are alluding to his high profile split from wife Tameka Foster-Raymond, just like Confessions (2004) profiled his split from TLC's Chili.
The problem is once you unwrap the package, it is a case of false advertising and disappointing content. There is no doubt it is easy to listen to, bar a few filler tracks that could have been left out but what lets it down is the monotony and the recycled topics and lines that we have heard all before. His favourite saying 'yeah man' becomes annoying after hearing it repeatedly thrown in for good measure.
There is no personal insight in this album except for Papers but even that was a track that Usher denied was entirely autobiographical. In fact, there is no real direction or chronological or logical sequence found in the track listing.
Raymond Vs Raymond is an album that does what it sets out to do: appeal to the masses, re-establish Usher's profile and get plenty of radio play. But to do all of this, Usher has sold out. His potential to use recent experiences as a platform and produce more emotional material has been wasted.
Interestingly enough, the misogynistic and juvenile lyrics are at an all time high and one has to wonder whether Usher needs to be reminded he is a 32-year-old father of two who might need to spend more time with his kids setting an example rather than bragging about 'So many girls'. Unfortunately, the need to stroke his ego, no matter how predictable and desperate, took precedence.
Oh how the mighty have fallen.
6/10
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