7 Things You Can Appreciate About Usher’s 'Hard II Love' Album

October 3, 2016 - 6:02 pm by Nicole McGloster

Usher's latest album was met with mixed reviews, but it still gets play 'round here.

Usher’s right. As of late, he’s been hard to love. In his 20-plus year career, the R&B crooner has offered up his musical efforts straight from the hear. He has given fans incredible albums -- like Confessions -- one of the greatest R&B albums ever recorded, and straight-up misses such as "Daddy’s Home." Plenty of R&B purists even took the leap with him into the depths of EDM. But for his eighth studio album, Usher doesn’t seem to lead listeners in a clear direction, making it hard to give it more than a few listens.

READ: DJ Khaled Takes A Tumble While Snapping Usher’s Dance Moves

Without question, Usher is still a top-notch singer, but he’s struggling to find his lane. Is he pandering to Gen-Z by tailoring his sound to the trap landscape as seen on “No Limit,” or stay true to early Millennial sound that made him one of the biggest superstars of our time? For any artist, it’s a balancing act, but especially for the ATL chameleon, who has spent much of his career evolving.

READ: Stream Usher’s ‘Hard II Love’ Album

Thematically, this 15-track record is solely about him taking ownership of relationship f*ck-ups and becoming a better man. That’s evident early on with his whole “gotta count for something” bit in the first track of the album. However, musically, it’s disjointed and sounds as if he’s still looking for himself. There’s not a ton of replay value and as a whole musical experience, it isn’t as immersive as some of his previous works.

While the hour-long sonic ride is tough to listen for anyone who’s been a diehard fan of his extensive early catalogue, there are still moments that one can appreciate from the R&B king.

Click through the gallery for 7 reasons why Hard II Love is still worth listening to.

Usher’s Honesty The album opens with “I fucked up/I’m man enough to admit it,” a sobering line that reinforces the theme of transparency. Here, Usher is willing to admit his faults to his lady lover and asks her to accept the flawed man he is. He still begs her to stay, too. It’s a familiar vibe we’re used to from Ursh, except he’s now driving home the fact that he can be faithful. Following this year’s most transparent pop-slash-R&B releases, however, including Frank Ocean’s Blond, Beyoncé’s Lemonade and Rihanna’s Anti, this project could’ve have been deeper and more transparent.

Priyanka Chopra Quantico actress Priyanka Chopra provides a refreshing perspective of what a woman wants in the midst of Usher’s “baby, baby please” act. “Everybody wants somebody that’s got confidence,” she says in her most seductive tone. “He should make me feel safe, make me laugh. Everything about him should feel sexy.” It’s a nice quick pause from Usher’s thick layer of pleas.

Homage to No Limit (And Trap) Most often, lead singles become eclipsed by the rest of the body of work. But that’s not the case for Usher’s Young Thug-assisted cut, “No Limit,” which also doubles as homage to Master P’s legendary New Orleans label. The radio-ready single maintains its spot as one of the singer's best records in recent years. With this bass-booming cut, the crooner also proves he can tailor a trap-approved space in the new sound landscape for a seasoned singer like himself. Though Thugger pops in with a strong verse of his usual rap-slash-harmonizing flows, Usher’s not to be outdone. And it works.

“Love You Down” Sample

Say hello to the perfect use of a throwback sample. Co-produced by PartyNextDoor (obviously), “Let Me” uses Ready For The World’s 1986 hit “Love You Down” and is possibly the brightest spot on the entire album.

It also delivers some of Usher’s best crooning as well. Aside from the former casanova’s persuasive begging for a chance to show and prove his love, the sample makes for a strong reinforcement of Usher’s musical growth.

ATL Rappers Cosign The R&B king of Atlanta hasn’t forgotten his roots as he joins forces with Young Thug and Future. As Thugger and Future Hendrix patch up their longstanding tension, they also share space on Hard II Love’s tracklist. Thug is featured early on for “No Limit” while Future harmonizes with Ursher on a later record titled “Rivals.” Demonstrating his dedication to his hometown, the musical vet reminds listeners that Drake and Beyoncé aren’t the only coveted cosigns that matter nowadays.

His R&B Roots In a genre that’s largely dominated by a woozy, Xanax-influenced sounds ushered in by acts like The Weeknd, PartyNextDoor and even a singing Drake, Usher maintains the sound we love him for. His vocal prowess throughout tiptoes on that line of his early work and the adult contemporary sound he’s crafted as of late. Though he doesn’t callback to it often, you can here a bit of “Old Usher” on songs like “Missin U,” “Need U” and “Tell Me.”

Amorous Lyrics This is Usher we’re talking about, so it’s safe to expect bars that’ll make any woman weak in the knees. Take for instance “Crash,” one of the lead singles that was arguably eclipsed by fellow lead single, “No Limit,” and “Tell Me,” the nearly nine-minute climax of desire. Seductive lines are sprinkled throughout the LP, further proving that even if Usher missteps, he’ll never falter on getting ladies to swoon.

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