“I done damn near lost my mama, I done been through so much drama …”
There’s a difference between art and exploitation.
When Marvin Gaye’s bitter divorce inspired him to write “Here, My Dear,” he wrote a set of songs that used his personal life as a backdrop, but never blatantly laid out his personal business in as naked — or as uninspired — a fashion as Usher does on his latest single, “Papers.”
When artists don’t have the skill and talent to write music that hints at their own personal anguish, while tapping into a higher meaning, it can come off as tactless and tired.
Usher’s new single falls into that category.
“I’m tired of sleeping in the other room spending them long nights …”
Usher’s marriage to Tameka Foster Raymond is nearing an end. They’ve been estranged for months and it’s only a matter of time before the separation is made official — and final. But for a man who was so secretive when the couple announced they were getting married; he seems awfully comfortable spilling his guts now. The song and the forthcoming album — which is, as of right now, brazenly titled Raymond vs. Raymond — are a pure exploitation of his pending divorce proceedings. And it’s not hard to see why Usher would take this approach.
Most of his fans never supported his marriage to Tameka Foster.
From the minute she entered his public life, message boards and radio talk shows have been flooded with women voicing their contempt for Foster. Usher seemed to not care about what his fans had to say — and he shouldn’t; fans are fans, but they can’t be allowed to run a celebrity’s life, right? Well, that seemed to be the singer’s position until … Here I Stand bombed.
After the megahit Confessions, everyone was anxious to see how Usher would follow up his most successful album. Here I Stand was his first release after becoming a husband and the reception to the album was tepid compared to his previous release. Many blamed the album’s relative failure on Usher’s persona shift from ladies’ man to devoted husband.
So what better way to win your fans back after a much-maligned marriage and an album that seemed inspired by that marriage? Exploit the divorce and vilify the woman nobody seemed to like anyway. It’s kind of saying, “See, fans—you guys were right — I’m sorry I left y’all, I won’t do it again.”
Here’s hoping Usher’s female fans can see through this ruse, realize it takes two to tango, and call “Papers” what it is — sonic exploitation of a painful (and over-publicized) personal situation.
–todd williams
