You know the tune. They play it at every millennial pain and sip, the r&b cover concerts, and sometimes at the club before closing when the DJ cuts the vocals, expecting you to know every word, which you do. Tevin Campbell’s classic Can We Talk is the early nineties hit we all know and love, but did you know that it could have ended up on the tip of the tongue of another crooner. That’s right, Usher Raymond, y’all!
After years of it being a quietly debated hot topic for decades, it was confirmed that the Babyface track almost went to Usher on a recent recording of The State of Black Music podcast.
“Well, that’s true,” Campbell said. “That’s actually true, L.A. did want [Usher] to record it but Babyface wanted me to do it and they had a big fight over that.” According to the online publication, Hot Hip Hop News, Usher has also confirmed that this was the case.
“So, LA Reid wanted Babyface to work on me and they were going through, you know, a lot of drama at the time,” the You Don’t Have to Call singer previously stated. “They were kinda severing their ties … he got mad…And he built an entire album for me, and he gave the whole album to somebody else…Tevin Campbell!”
While Babyface and LA Reid have had their personal and professional tiffs over the years, the beef never trickled down between Usher and Tevin. During the taping, Campbell told hosts that he has always respected Usher, and has been a fan of his work.
“[You] Got It Bad is one of my favorite R&B songs,” he said. “I couldn’t sing that like he sings it. I don’t believe Usher could sing Can We Talk like I sing it. Not every song is for everybody.”
In addition to this need-to-know information, Campbell talked about his time as a child star, and discussed some of the R&B stars of the current moments including Chris Brown.
“Chris Brown is amazing,” he began. “I think that I would really love to hear him do a ballad—cause he’s got a great voice. But he is a better dancer to me, than anyone out there. I would just like to hear him do a power ballad. ”
The Always in My Heart singer also spoke about the state of the music industry at large.
“I think that the freedom of social media, and you know, how independent artists [put their] own music out. Record companies are gonna be pretty much obsolete in five years,” Campbell said.
“Yeah I said it, Warner Brothers and Sony and RCA,” he said looking directly into the camera. “That’s why they’re trying to get all their money now, because in five years, they’re not gonna matter.”
You can watch the full interview here.