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Just like his hits of the past, Usher’s album is “Good Good.” On Feb. 9, Usher Raymond IV, professionally known as Usher, released his ninth studio album titled “Coming Home.” The album features a variety of artists from 21 Savage to Jungkook. Due to Usher being the alleged “King of R&B” and having over nine singles on the Top 100 Billboard, this album did not go unnoticed.
In addition to being widely publicized by his rather interesting Super Bowl performance, Usher was given a 76/100 by Metacritic, a relatively good score compared to other recent releases in the genre. Jon Parales, a critic for the New York Times, gave this album a 9/10, furthering that it lives up to its promotion and proves that Usher is the “King of R&B.”
The album follows Usher’s feelings about coming back to his roots. He states that he feels more refreshed and refined from his experiences over the last six years. In the titular song “Coming Home,” Usher talks about how he yearns to come back home, which one can infer means going back to his safe place. “After the journey that I’ve had in life over the last six years, I feel like I’m coming back to start,” Usher said in an interview with USA Today.
Straying from typical hip-hop influences, the album experimented with several different sounds. The song “A-Town” samples the song “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel, which is a classic, Grammy-nominated song from the 1980s. Many R&B albums do not sample hit songs, especially not songs from over 40 years ago. Additionally, the song “Standing Next to You” has more jazz-like beats, in contrast to the album’s generally electric beats, displaying its diversity.
Although the album features over 20 songs, the songs never have overlapping themes, each displaying assorted rhythms and melodies. The song “Good Good” is a hybrid of R&B music as well as rap music, featuring 21 Savage’s melodies with Usher and Summer Walker’s flows. In contrast, “Ruin” is a slower song, talking about resentment towards someone who broke Usher’s heart, while other songs, predictably, talk about relationships with women.
In conclusion, “Coming Home” is an amazing album that highlights many underrated musical artists in the industry today, like Latto and Pheelz. The album also displays a unique story, one where Usher longs to go back to the place he feels most at peace in . Taking these factors into consideration, the album deserves an 85/100, rather than a 76, due to its meaning and breaking the norms. Usher’s next album will definitely go “BIG” as he continues his decades of R&B dominance.
