So whatвЂ™s next for a man freed from the bonds of matrimony? Well, fucking, for one thing, and lots of it. If anything, itвЂ™s an anti-apology for having resumed business as usual after the wedding vows: вЂњSo what the hell am I gonвЂ™ do?/Turn my life around?/It ainвЂ™t goinвЂ™ down/She knew about the life that I live/WhyвЂ™s she cryinвЂ™ now?вЂќ And, despite its title, вЂњGuiltyвЂќ is no confessional. Amid the digital squiggles of вЂњPapersвЂќ, he sounds eager to just get the whole divorce thing over with. ItвЂ™s impossible to know where the line that separates truth from self-aggrandizement lies, but as he portrays himself on these songs, Usher is unrepentant. There are, in fact, two Ushers on the cover (well, two half-Ushers, at any rate), and the booklet photos show Raymond cavorting with children and praying in a church on one hand, and posing disaffectedly with a topless model on the other. The new discвЂ™s artwork, on the other hand, suggests that the title Raymond v. In between his last record and his latest one, the 31-year-old R&B superstar filed for divorce from Tameka Foster, the mother of his two boys. If youвЂ™re wondering how that all turned out, look no further than the title of UsherвЂ™s just-released sixth studio album. In 2008, the newly married singer released Here I Stand, touted as his first truly grown-up soul record, on which he purportedly bade farewell to life as a skirt-chaser and embraced his new roles as husband and father. вЂњMars vs Venus,вЂќ a very slow jam, soars, while вЂњPro LoverвЂќ is a breezy, casual number filled with sweet dub accents.Usher Raymond IV clearly has no qualms about using his personal life as fodder for his songs. Two of the best happen to be collaborations with Jam and Lewis and the Avila Brothers. (The combination is as wrong as Eugene McDaniels' вЂњCompared to WhatвЂќ and a soft drink commercial.) Otherwise, the slow jams and the few moments when Usher sounds as if he's having actual fun win out.

(Either way, itвЂ™s evident that long-term relationships might not be for him.) The sleek dancefloor track вЂњSo Many Girls,вЂќ one of a few songs in which Usher sounds dead in the eyes, going through the motions, desensitized by the bounty of women at his feet, is followed by the sarcastically titled вЂњGuilty,вЂќ where he whines вЂњI guess IвЂ™m guilty for wanting to be up in the clubвЂќ - which warrants a response like вЂњYes, attached 31-year-old man, thatвЂ™s correct.вЂќ A few songs before that is a quasi-redemptive ballad вЂњFoolinвЂ™ AroundвЂќ he humbles himself, seems to take responsibility for his actions, then casually drops вЂњGuess thatвЂ™s just the man in me, blame it on celebrity.вЂќ The albumвЂ™s catchiest uptempo song, вЂњLil Freak,вЂќ featuring Nicki Minaj, is effective despite itself, swiping the synthesizer line from вЂњLiving for the CityвЂќ - a classic containing Stevie Wonder's most angered social commentary - for the sake of UsherвЂ™s lesbian tryst.

Many of the songs on the album have to be taken on their own, stripped of context otherwise, determining what applies to UsherвЂ™s real and fantasy lives can be problematic.

He pours himself into that song more than any other on the set, and breakup lyrics donвЂ™t get much more specific than вЂњYou donвЂ™t think I know whatвЂ™s up, but sweetheart thatвЂ™s what ruined usвЂќ or вЂњI done damn near lost my mama.вЂќ The song was awarded the top spot on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart, most likely for its lyrical uniqueness since the song does not break out of an exceptionally repetitive twiddle. вЂњPapers,вЂќ the early buzz single for Raymond V Raymond, bears the closest relation to the turbulence he experienced. The making of UsherвЂ™s sixth studio album was inevitably affected by the end of his marriage and its aftershocks.

Raymond vs raymond cover usher