Ever since Katt Williams and Shannon Sharpe together annihilated the internet with their Club Shay Shay podcast interview just under a month ago, eyes have been on Sharpe to see who his next guest will be.
When we learned that Sharpe was dropping an Usher interview on Wednesday — a few days before his much-anticipated Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show performance and the release of “Coming Home,” his first album in eight years — we all wondered what caffeine-filled tea would spill from the King of R&B.
Well, we didn’t quite get Williams’ viral explosiveness. But the superstar did drop a few gems over brown liquor that the masses didn’t already know about.
It’s worth noting that the interview – among the shortest in Club Shay Shay history at just over an hour — is between three and four months old. As such, it might feel like a couple things are missing…namely, all Diddy talk is before his Cassie-ushered downfall in November and the Williams interview hadn’t aired yet.
So, let’s dig into what we learned about Urrsher during their time on the leather chairs.
Who is the song ‘Confessions’ about?
Sharpe wanted to get to the bottom of the title song from Usher’s 2004 album, which is full of enough goodness to carry several Kountry Wayne skits. Usher said that the song was inspired by the stories of several of the men who collaborated on the album while insisting that he wouldn’t throw any of them under the bus.
“We made an album and we as men sat around like this and had real conversations,” he said. “[producer] Mark Pitts, myself, JD [Jermaine Dupri], a couple cats in the room that were going through the situations in the song.”
“We were all having conversations about things happening to us, but here was an opportunity for me to be able to tell that story in a way where everybody can relate.”
Sharpe admitted that he believes “Confessions” is Usher’s magnum opus, to which Usher agreed and said that it was the last R&B album to go diamond — or sell 10 million copies.
He wishes he could be a “normal” parent
At several points in the interview, Sharpe and Usher bonded over parenthood. Usher admitted that he wishes he could more easily attend sports games and recitals for his four children and that he attempts to “make myself small” when doing so.
He acknowledges that it can be difficult for his children to shine past his own stardom…especially his namesake, Usher Raymond V.
“I deal with same issues any parent does…kids influenced by the things they see, things they get into,” Usher said. “But I care for my kids. I view disciplinary measures as something that prepares kids, especially Black kids, for the reality of the world they’re living in. I hold [them] to a higher standard because I know what work it takes to be great.”
Usher admitted he has no problem being a disciplinarian but believes it’s equally important to talk to his kids.
“If you push your kids, you have to love on them as much,” he said.
What secret “super group” did Usher turn down?
He said that he was supposed to be in a group with Jay Z, Pharrell and Diddy. But ‘secret meetings” and logistics simply didn’t pan out, which isn’t surprising considering all four men have been busy and incredibly successful titans for decades.
“I think that we all just got caught up in a moment and somehow we just got distracted and it never happened,” he said. “I wish it happened.”
Usher said he also turned down a role in the 2006 Beyoncé- and Jennifer Hudson-starring “Dreamgirls” film, a decision he said had Eddie Murphy and Brandy blowing up his phone to figure out why. Usher drops his head in his hand when discussing his decision, so it would appear he still has feelings about it.
Was Usher actually Beyoncé’s nanny??
Usher is rumored to have once babysat the legendary singer, which would be interesting considering Bey is only three years his junior. But Usher cleared up that he was never actually the superstar’s nanny…or “manny,” as it were.
He explained that Grammy-winning artist and songwriter Daryl Simmons worked with a group called The Dolls — the precursor to Destiny’s Child — in the 1990s. The group, including Bey, visited Simmons’ Atlanta home, and Usher was tasked with “watching over” them as the eldest teenager, making sure they didn’t get into any “trouble.”
“When I saw them, there was something very special about all of them, because as Destiny’s Child, they all thrived,” he said. “Even to this day when you see them together, they’re all an incredible unit. Beyoncé had a talent an also too a brilliance and a brightness that was much different.”