Usher - Here I Stand Review

Posted by Patrick Robinson on 05.27.2008

Growing up ISN'T as hard as it seems apparently for Usher

In 2004, you couldn’t walk down the street without hearing arguably Usher’s biggest hit of his career thus far, “Yeah!” The single helped propel Confessions beyond the 9 million sales mark making it his best selling album to date.

Since then, Usher has been involved in projects largely outside music, mainly acting both on stage and on the big screen. Apart from appearances on singles by Lil Jon and last year’s “Same Girl” with R. Kelly, it has been a good 3 years since we’ve heard new material from Usher.

He also married in August of last year, and welcomed a son into the world (Usher Raymond V…yes, there’s been four of them before now) late November. Jermaine Dupri, who is a long time friend of Usher’s, and has been involved with some of his biggest hits described Here I Stand as:

“More about teaching men [that] at some point, you gotta grow up. And growing up is respecting a woman and having a woman in your life and taking care of your woman. That's his definition of growing up."

Does the album stand up to the standard he set with Confessions, or is it a failed attempt at “growing up”?

1. Intro
2. Love In This Club Ft. Young Jeezy
3. This Ain’t Sex
4. Trading Places
5. Moving Mountains
6. What’s Your Name? Ft. Will.I.Am
7. Prayer For You (Interlude)
8. Something Special
9. Love You Gently
10. Best Thing
11. Before I Met You
12. His Mistakes
13. Appetite
14. What’s A Man To Do?
15. Lifetime
16. Love In This Club Part 2 Ft. Beyonce & Lil Wayne
17. Here I Stand
18. Will Work For Love (Hidden Track)

Looking at the album cover reveals once more, Usher’s fascination with dates, as the number plate of the car displays ‘1126’, the birth date of his son. To answer my own question, the album ultimately is a display of growing up, taking more responsibility and looking for a more steady relationship, compared to the ‘fling’ nature of previous works.

The album actually follows it’s own form of growth and development as it progresses. From the opening track, “Love In This Club”, we’re dealing with seeing a girl at the club, and lusting after her. Polow Da Don, the producer actually thought the track was going to be called “Lust In The Club” to reflect that.

However, the album then proceeds to take a sharp turn, almost like a slap in the face to wake up and realize that there is more to life than one night stands. Tracks like “Moving Mountains”, “Lifetime” and “Here I Stand” are dedications to a woman and a steady relationship. The former is a heartfelt apology for acting out, whilst the latter tracks are more thankful in nature.

Before we go on, let’s get the negatives out of the way. “This Ain’t Sex” and “Love You Gently” feel out of place on the album. “This Ain’t Sex” comes off as ground covered before, and whilst the production is quite bouncy and enjoyable, it doesn’t seem to quite match the content. “Love You Gently” isn’t a bad song in itself, but it’s placing on the album seems to kill the momentum that was building, being significantly slower than pretty much every other track. Finally, “What’s Your Name?” features Will.I.Am. in a completely useless and ultimately lazy cameo, combined with a beat that sounds like a throw away from Elephunk and you’ve got the worst track on the album.

There’s a couple of tracks that I really enjoyed more than the others though, the first being “Trading Places”. It’s a definite break from the norm, dealing with a change in of the accepted roles between men and women when it comes to love. Kind of what Ciara’s “Like A Boy” should have been, but done in a more passive manner. The second is “His Mistakes” which is a track I think nine out of ten guys will relate to. Backed by signature Stargate production, the track deals with a relationship being hurt by the actions of a previous lover.

There aren’t many guest appearances on the album, and I feel it works as it allows Usher to truly shine on tracks like the aforementioned “Moving Mountains”, “Something Special” and “What’s A Man To Do?”. However, when there are guests, they’re ultimately adding to the song, rather than dragging it down. Jay-Z breaks out a rapid flow that he hasn’t done for a number of years now on “Best Thing” and Beyonce and Lil Wayne pop up on “Love In This Club Part 2”. Beyonce’s vocal work helps enhance the more mellow mood of the track whereas Lil Wayne busts out his “just got high” flow, which, combined with the vocoder makes an extremely entertaining verse.

The 411: Longtime Usher fans may be disappointed in the end, as it’s a significant change from his earlier work. However, I feel that it’s showing not only significant growth in terms of vocal work, and lyrical content, but you can almost feel the maturity that Usher has gone through in the last four years. In a day and age where contemporary R&B is largely about one night stands, throw away relationships or flat out cheating, it was refreshing to hear someone finally grow up and take responsibility for their actions. A definite recommendation.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]