Usher Disagrees With “R&B Is Dead” Narrative, Praises Upcoming Artists
Usher has been dubbed the “King of R&B” by several people over the last few years, so his opinion on the genre is always welcome. The 45-year-old artist recently expressed his disagreement with the idea that the genre is dead.
Billboard published an interview with the Confessions singer and asked him how he felt about the new crop of R&B artists who are leading the way. “I’m very happy that there’s a new installation of R&B artists who care to be authentic to what they are creating, inspired by artists of the past,” he said. “Everybody who has ever said to me that R&B is dead sounds crazy. Especially when I know the origins of R&B are in all other genres of music. It’s about creating commerce in other spaces.”
The Atlanta superstar gave his flowers to the annual Lovers & Friends Festival, which gathers R&B stars of the past and present to perform for those who love the genre. “Lovers & Friends is a successful R&B festival that gives you a place to go and celebrate the songs that we make,” he said. “We need things that you associate with R&B that you can buy into. Like with Hip-Hop — glasses, clothes, cars, jewelry, sneakers [… ] ancillary things that people can access. R&B needs and has the potential to have those things as well.”
Usher closed off his thoughts by saying that he never bought into the idea that R&B was dying. “I think it just needs expansion,” he said. “We’re moving toward a standard where people are looking at snippets — TikTok, Instagram, and other things — and when fans get it, they take it and do something with it. But if we start to think of it that way and create from that place, the standards for R&B will change. You won’t be able to compare it in an old-versus-new way. It’ll just be what it is.”
Usher will be bringing R&B to a major stage this upcoming Sunday (Feb. 11) at Super Bowl LVIII. He told Entertainment Weekly that he was able to get his set time for the highly anticipated halftime performance extended to 15 minutes, instead of the usual 13. “I can’t explain why, but it’s a funny thing that I was able to do and craft,” he said. “That was a huge strategic thing that happened between me and my agency.”
That will be a huge day for the eight-time Grammy winner, as he will also release his new album Coming Home on the day of the big game. He most recently shared his new single “Ruin” featuring Pheelz ahead of the LP’s release. Watch the “Ruin” video below.
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