Raymond’s split with his wife, but despite its allusive title, Raymond V Raymond is an album of club bangers, radioplay efforts, and disappointing moments that are relatively uninspired by Usher’s marital conflict. R&B star Usher’s sixth album is about divorce, right? Well, not exactly. Just don’t mistake this for a huge creative step forward.Review Summary: The club’s the thing wherein to catch the conscience of Usher. Usher conveys his conflicted emotions and sounds great in doing so. Raymond’ provides club hits and soft ballads, per usual, and it should be huge, but it’s nothing new. This song may not be confessional, but at any rate, it’s smooth and sexy - descriptions that fit the album as a whole. Usher has brought his newest lady home and he’s about to do his thing.
‘Making Love (Into the Night)’ ends the drama properly. ‘Okay’ is a cool and easy song that has Usher flexing his vocals again, lyrically smooth-talking a girl he just picked up in the club. and sounds awkward: Usher never sounds comfortable and the egotistical theme of the song doesn’t help to show a new side of the artist. ‘So Many Girls’ is a waste of time, featuring redundant, champagne-popping lyrics and Diddy talking all over the track. But, appropriately so, Usher can’t resist the temptation to flirt with the clubs for a few more songs. This would have been a nice place to end the album - on a mature note, giving some closure to the story. Then comes the equally emotional hit single ‘Papers,’ in which Usher finally accepts the failures of his marriage and gets ready to sign the divorce forms. Here, Usher gives us an emotional, confessional ballad contemplating his lost love, and it sounds heartfelt. ‘Foolin Around’ is an honest look at his infidelity and relationship insecurities. The artist does well to embrace that side for a bit, giving us the head-nodding ‘Pro Lover.’ A confident hip-hop beat complements Usher, who reinterprets professionalism by singing about adding women to his Hall of Fame. Usher gets tender with it, setting a nice mood for the first real lovemaking song on the album. Third single ‘OMG’ is another one for the clubs, featuring some pointless Auto-Tune and annoying chants over a Will.I.Am beat. Easy hook, simple beat and a generic Ludacris verse thrown into the mix - it’s decent, but formulaic. It’s catchy and subwoofer-friendly, but ultimately plays like a B-side to ‘Yeah,’ Usher’s 2004 smash hit. ‘She Don’t Know’ achieves the same effect. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the second single, ‘Lil’ Freak.’ Raymond reverts back to his inner playboy here, singing about an impending ménage a trios, while Nicki Minaj raps nonsensically about the same. Usher injects us with his sweet voice again and creates one of his best songs in years. It is slower and smoother than the preceding songs, yet it maintains a popping club beat. The third track, ‘There Goes My Baby,’ is when Usher really hits his stride, balancing the bedroom with the dance floor. Three solid remixes have come out in past months, so the original version seems tacked on just for good measure. Then the familiar hit that dropped last December, ‘Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home),’ kicks in.
Part classical, part club and completely foreign, ‘Monstar’ does well to portray Usher’s conflicting egos. As he explains in his lyrics, ‘There’s three sides to every story … there’s one side, there’s the other and then there’s the truth.’ The song takes time to get going, but when it does, it fascinates. Opening track ‘Monstar’ sets up Usher’s drama. While he reflects on women and divorce, he ultimately proves that the club remains his first love. It’s a little too ambitious and the concept is never fully realized. Raymond’ attempts to pit Usher’s two selves - the club-hopping playboy and the remorseful lover - against one another.
This effort has the R&B artist going confessional again, offering up another large batch of hit singles and hot beats. Raymond’ is an enjoyable album that should be a hit, but it feels like the same formula from Usher’s past.