Looking 4 Myself became the fourth consecutive Usher album to top the Billboard 200 chart.
Its follow-up, Hard II Love, arrived four years later -- by a matter of weeks, the singer's longest between-albums period to that point.
The space was filled with several non-album singles, including the ribald Pop & Oak collaboration "Good Kisser" and meet-ups with Nicki Minaj and Juicy J, the latter of which, "I Don't Mind," went multi-platinum.
There was a lot of activity outside the vocal booth: a coaching stint on The Voice, the UR Experience Tour, and the filming of the Roberto Durán biopic Hands of Stone, in which Usher portrayed Sugar Ray Leonard.
"Champions," Usher and Rubén Blades' contribution to that movie's soundtrack, concludes Hard II Love and predictably sounds like a stray bonus cut.
Any of those 2014-2015 singles would be more suited here.
While there are instances in which Usher pushes himself vocally -- most so on the slightly church-ified arena pop belter "Stronger" and falsetto pleader "Tell Me" -- he proceeds with his tried-and-true formula, switching between street cuts, slow jams, and relatively pop-flavored material.
He still wants to be called a mack, confides he's "still stuck in his ways," and demands, as usual, forgiveness for transgressions.
Almost every track has a distinct set of producers and co-writers, and not one of them factored in the previous album.
Usher reunites with the imaginative as ever Pop & Oak for "Missin U," a winding and alluring track full of switch-ups that involves a brilliantly placed usage of Steely Dan's "Third World Man." The aching/boasting "Bump," made with Tricky Stewart and the-Dream, would be another airwaves standout with shades of the Art of Noise's "Moments in Love" and the animated voices of Luke and Lil Jon in the background.
For most of the selections, Usher connects with a lot of relative newcomers who either started or broke through after 2012.
"Make U a Believer," produced by Metro Boomin, is surprisingly uneventful, while the Ready for the World-sampling PartyNextDoor production "Let Me" is a slinking highlight.
Nothing here is destined for pop ubiquity, and nothing dazzles quite as much as past hits like "Climax," but this is the most pleasing Usher album in over a decade.
In terms of ability, agility, and creativity, Usher's vocals still crush the commercial competition.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Need UBibi Bourelly, Albert Andre Bowman, Paul Epworth, Usher Raymond IV, Juan Najera | Usher | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 2 | No LimitUsher Raymond IV, Christopher Perry, Keith Thomas, Theron Thomas, Timothy Thomas | Usher | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 3 | BumpUsher Raymond IV, Terius Nash, Jonathan Smith, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart | Usher | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 4 | Let MeJahron Brathwaite, David Hughes, Usher Raymond IV, Melvin Riley | Usher | Play | 03:09 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 5 | DowntimeDarius Ginn, Usher Raymond IV | Usher | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 6 | CrashUsher Raymond IV, Lee Stashenko, Corey Williams | Usher | Play | 03:31 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 7 | Make U a BelieverAdam Feeney, Usher Raymond IV, Leland Wayne, Theron Wayne | Usher | Play | 04:06 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 8 | Mind of a Man | Usher | Play | 00:53 | 2 MB | 5 MB |
| 9 | FWMUsher Raymond IV | Usher | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 10 | RivalsUsher Raymond IV | Usher | Play | 03:49 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 11 | Tell MeTrevian Chandler, Usher Raymond IV, George K. Johnson, Ryan Toby | Usher | Play | 08:29 | 19 MB | 53 MB |
| 12 | Hard II LoveUsher Raymond IV, Pierre-Luc Rioux | Usher | Play | 03:22 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 13 | StrongerTaji Ausar, Elley Duhé, Andrew Fridge, Joseph Hill, Usher Raymond IV, Titus Stubblefield | Usher | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 14 | Champions [From the Motion Picture "Hands of Stone"]Rubén Blades, Usher Raymond IV, Raphael Saadiq, Taura Stinson | Usher, Rubén Blades | Play | 05:17 | 12 MB | 35 MB |
| 15 | Missin You | Usher | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 59 mins | 136 MB | |||||
| 59 mins | 372 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kory Aaron | Engineer, Vocal Engineer |
| 2 | Daniel Arsham | Art Direction, Sculpture |
| 3 | Taji Ausar | Composer |
| 4 | Calvin Bailiff | Assistant |
| 5 | Walter Becker | Composer |
| 6 | Rubén Blades | Composer, Primary Artist |
| 7 | Bibi Bourelly | Assistant, Composer |
| 8 | Albert Andre Bowman | Composer |
| 9 | Jahron Brathwaite | Composer |
| 10 | Jeremy Brown | Assistant |
| 11 | Robert Calloway | Composer |
| 12 | Trevian Chandler | Composer |
| 13 | Maddox Chhim | Assistant |
| 14 | Coup d'Etat | Executive Producer |
| 15 | Tom Coyne | Mastering |
| 16 | Jacob Dennis | Assistant |
| 17 | Tre Drumz | Producer |
| 18 | Elley Duhé | Composer |
| 19 | Jeff Edwards | Engineer |
| 20 | Dernst Emile II | Producer |
| 21 | Paul Epworth | Composer, Producer, Programming |
| 22 | Nicholas Essig | Assistant |
| 23 | Adam Feeney | Composer |
| 24 | Seth Firkins | Engineer |
| 25 | Robin Florent | Assistant |
| 26 | Andrew Fridge | Composer |
| 27 | Future | Featured Artist |
| 28 | Chris Galland | Mixing Engineer |
| 29 | Darius Ginn | Composer |
| 30 | Brandon Harding | Assistant |
| 31 | Kuk Harrell | Vocal Producer |
| 32 | Joseph Hill | Composer, Producer |
| 33 | Leticia Hilliard | A&R |
| 34 | David Hughes | Composer, Producer |
| 35 | Jeff Jackson | Assistant |
| 36 | Jaycen Joshua | Mixing |
| 37 | George K. Johnson | Composer |
| 38 | Jaha Johnson | Executive Producer |
| 39 | Joseph Hartwell Jones | Engineer |
| 40 | John "J-Banga" Kercy | Engineer |
| 41 | Murphy Kid | Programming |
| 42 | James Law | Photography |
| 43 | Lil Jon | Vocals |
| 44 | Faheem Mardre | Composer |
| 45 | Manny Marroquin | Mixing |
| 46 | Jason McGee | Direction |
| 47 | Riley McIntyre | Assistant |
| 48 | Donnie Meadows | Production Coordination |
| 49 | Metro Boomin | Producer |
| 50 | Juan Najera | Composer |
| 51 | Terius Nash | Composer |
| 52 | PartyNextDoor | Producer |
| 53 | Christopher Perry | Composer, Producer |
| 54 | Mark Pitts | Executive Producer |
| 55 | Usher Raymond IV | Composer, Executive Producer |
| 56 | Melvin Riley | Composer |
| 57 | Pierre-Luc Rioux | Composer |
| 58 | Tane Runo | Producer |
| 59 | Raphael Saadiq | Composer, Producer |
| 60 | Jonathan Smith | Composer |
| 61 | Carlos St. John | Producer |
| 62 | Jason Stanulis | Assistant |
| 63 | Lee Stashenko | Composer |
| 64 | Christopher "Tricky" Stewart | Composer |
| 65 | Taura Stinson | Composer, Vocal Arrangement |
| 66 | Titus Stubblefield | Composer |
| 67 | Keith Thomas | A&R, Composer, Vocal Producer |
| 68 | Sam Thomas | Engineer |
| 69 | Theron Thomas | Composer |
| 70 | Timothy Thomas | Composer |
| 71 | Ryan Toby | Composer |
| 72 | Usher | Primary Artist |
| 73 | Randy Warnken | Assistant |
| 74 | Leland Wayne | Composer |
| 75 | Theron Wayne | Composer |
| 76 | Matt Wiggins | Engineer |
| 77 | Corey Williams | Additional Production, Composer |
| 78 | Young Thug | Featured Artist |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |