The Breakfast Club - Usher Reveals Plans For Super Bowl Halftime Show, Talks Reputation, Preserving Legacy + More

Episode Date: September 26, 2023

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Wake that ass up early in the morning. The Breakfast Club. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy, Charlamagne Tha God. We are The Breakfast Club. We got Lauren LaRosa hanging out with us this morning, our special guest co-host. And we got the icon, the legend on the line right now. Ladies and gentlemen, Usher. Hey. How you feeling, brother? Man, I'm feeling up right now. Feeling blessed. Feeling blessed.

Congratulations, Super Bowl halftime show. I feel like the culture collectively was calling for this. Yep. I feel like we've been saying this for months. Thank you, man. Affirmations do come true, right? Thank you guys for wanting it for me. Thanks for each and every person that prayed.

You know what I'm saying? And also, too, just talked about it. Maybe it was just putting it in the air that the Super Bowl would decide to come to Vegas because I was there. No, I'm just joking. For real, man, I have, you know, have heard, you know, the conversations and the idea that, you know, I would be able to play the Super Bowl. So now it's a reality. Crazy. Jay-Z calls me at, what, 6 o'clock in the morning? I'm barely just waking up. This is the first news I get of the day.

He's like, yo, this your Michael moment. This your magic moment. I'm like, are you serious? He's like, yeah. So I look over at Jay, and I'm like, yo, it's Jay. He's telling me I got it. No way. And in the background, you hear him, way. It was so

gangster. You know what I'm saying? It was great. How long have you known this was going to happen? Because you said, so Jay just called you or you knew this was in the air? Jay called when I first got the news. I was in Atlanta. Yo, the craziest part, man, trying to hold this, you know what I'm saying? And not tell my kids who were also too on me, like, dad, you should play the Super Bowl. I'm telling them, who do I need to call? You know what I mean? They online asking or talking to you.

I'm like, hey, man, just maybe pray about it. You know what I'm saying? Like, if you put it in the ether, you know what I'm saying, maybe it'll come back. I'm knowing, but I can't tell them. You know, so it was about a week and a half of just holding that secret. It felt like, I felt like, you know, like I was having a conversation in the war room

and you can't tell the rest of the world what's going on. It's crazy. That was on your bucket list, you said. It has always been on my bucket list, yeah. I bet you since you saw Michael Jackson do it back in the day. Absolutely. He's the one who, you know, by the way, Michael has paved the way for all of us.

You know what I'm saying? To be able to see what he did with this moment starts it. And then to understand what Prince did with this moment ignites it. To know that so many legendary artists have been in that position from, you know what I'm saying, U2play you know Beyonce Bruno Mars so many incredible artists have been able to service that moment you know and I really do feel like I'm built for this I feel like the music catalog that I've been able to build obviously speaks to it but the entertainer that I am for that moment and the fact that I'm in my new home you know I'm saying like not in my Vegas residency but also to Lovers and Friends Festival. And it's like, why not have a crescendo?

I think it was perfectly timed. I'm a praying man. You know what I mean? And I actually, I put this up in the air. I prayed about it. And if it was intended to happen, then it would find its way to me. And it did. And I'm not going to disappoint.

I'll tell you that much. Did you go to Vegas, starting with Lovers and Friends and then going would find its way to me. And it did. And I'm not going to disappoint, I'll tell you that much. Did you go to Vegas, starting with lovers and friends and then going into the residency, saying like, okay, if we do all this, now that it's here, the Super Bowl is going to be next. Was that like you put that out there knowing that this would come? Kind of like a proof of concept type of thing. Not that you needed it, but you know what I mean?

Yeah, no, affirmations. Like literally deciding that I was going to move in a certain way to take like some sense of ownership of a space you know I feel like in the past being able to do that in Atlanta like yeah I'm originally from Chattanooga Tennessee but I was raised in Atlanta and Atlanta raised the artist that I am Atlanta raised the man that I am Atlanta raised the artist that I am. Atlanta raised the man that I am. Atlanta raised the person and the creative that I am. And I was able to do that in Las Vegas. So I started with a residency, opening a show when we were just coming out of the pandemic, the were afraid, you know, bringing that energy back in, that started it. And then staying in Las Vegas long enough for them to decide, okay, we're going to have the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. So I'm like, I'm staying here. I brought my festival, you know, Lovers in France to Vegas. I was like, I'm staying here. I'm going to put my flag down here. This is my new space. This is my home. I feel like I get to do all of the things that I've always wanted to do and progress and just be creative. And since then,

there's just been more and more things that have just really worked to my benefit. But again, I'm a praying man, and I appreciate the fact that God has allowed this to happen. I appreciate each and every person that I know said a prayer for me. I can tell you, my grandmother, before she passed, she said a prayer, and this is a very strong praying woman. So I know that my grandmother, she's in heaven, and she's going to have the best seat in the house

being able to look down and see this happen. My nanny going to, they're going to be up there. My grandpapa's going to be up there looking at this and enjoying it. They got the best seats in the house. Now you got the difficult task now. See, now this is the difficult task. You got two things.

Now you got to bring Atlanta to the Super Bowl. So do you bring roller skates? Do you bring strip club? Do you bring cars? And then you got so many records into 13 minutes. Are you bringing the stripper from the Vegas, the one that comes down and like claps on, I don't know her name. I haven't been to the show yet. Are you bringing her stripper from the Vegas? The one that comes down and like claps on, I don't know her name. I haven't been to the show yet.

When I can't see the show, are you bringing her to the show? Pull up. I might walk to the show if you're wearing this. Let me tell you something. You know what I do in Vegas. So listen, it ain't nothing but the lights, baby. And that's what we're going to do. We're going to bring the lights.

We're going to bring the lights out. I can't give you too much. I'll tell you this. The ideas that are swarming. You know, you obviously know all the people that I work with in my life and my career musically, you know, the people that I respect and have collaborated with. I'm thinking of all of that. I'm thinking of making certain that the world understands the legacy that is my career, not just the moment, but the legacy, the connection, the ideas and the nuance. You know what I'm saying? If it is a little bit of what Atlanta is,

if it's a lot of bit of what my life has been in terms of my experience, but I'm playing the hits and I'm going to definitely bring something that's going to leave you. It's going to leave you shocked. You're going to, you're going to remember this moment for the positivity. You're going to remember this moment for the idea and the history. You're going to remember this moment for all of the people that I feel like I stand on the shoulders of. You're going to remember this moment for the idea and the history. You're going to remember this moment for all of the people that I feel like I stand on the shoulders of. You're going to remember this moment for the fact that it inspired me to see them have their moment, and now I've got to have mine. Tell us the meaning of the commercial,

Usher, and why it was important for you to tap into your younger self like that. Younger self? What you talking about, man? I'm still here. Don't play with him.. You definitely not Asian. But that was that was that was a younger version of us. Now, so, by the way, you know, we went around and around about how we would approach this. Another really great benefit is the 20th anniversary and celebration of confessions. So it will be a great opportunity to take a little bit of something that people would instantly identify with and play with it.

And I felt like the social engagement, because it really was spun after something that I saw my fans engage using, you know, using it for me. And I'm like, yo, this is something that I think is going to activate the world and also to continue to engage them, because I want other people to do it as well. You know, I want other people to do it as well, you know? I want other people to do their own versions of that conversation. You know what I'm saying? Why Dion and Kim?

I mean, I think that, you know, the dynamic of who I am and what I have offered is span-wide. I think that, you know, Dion and what he represents as a story that has continuously continued to dig himself from wherever he has been, whether it was health or whether it was life or whether it was the pivot of being an amazing athlete and then becoming a coach. I felt like there was a story there to be told and I wanted to support that and I wanted him to do it. I had to ask if he would do it and he volunteered and said, yeah, I would love to be a part of that. I felt like it was for the culture in that way. Kim, Kim is a good friend and I felt like it would definitely be fun

um Marshawn Lynch was just once again another fun moment for the culture you know I'm saying and and and Odell Beckham you know I'm saying it was just a matter of just continuing to keep the right energy and all the right people there were a ton of things that i've talked about and a ton of things are going to happen any given sunday that leads up to the actual big sunday performance so it ain't done you're going to see more i actually you know pre-ordered and put on uh pre-order my album so there's a lot of a lot of levels to what i'm doing with this entire moment between now and february 11 Now, there were the dating rumors with you and Kim Kardashian because she had came to the show so many times and people were like, what the heck is going on?

You weren't afraid to lean into that? I said I'm on a breakfast club. I forgot, sorry. Because when I saw it, I said, oh, this is smart. Like, I thought you were playing into that whole, like, people were like, how did this friendship even come about? Why does she keep going to the show? Well, if you listen to it, basically, she told you I've seen the show two times and that's why she could give the news because she actually knows. But now it's a great show, man. Vegas

has brought out a lot of people, not just Kim. We're talking about Halle Berry. You know what I'm saying? We're talking about Zendaya. We're talking about, you know, Gabrielle Union, who was in the house last night here in Paris. You know what I'm saying? This thing is about good energy. This thing is about making certain that people celebrate that legacy every night. And I'm happy, you know, that our friendship allowed her to be a part of it and that we could do something fun and social, you know. Now, I don't know if you heard, but, you know, Charlamagne and I are actually going out to Vegas to see your show. Yeah, we're coming in October. Not together, but we're going to see it. And we joked on air that says,

if you sing to our women, we're going to grab your other hand. We're all singing together. You're going to serenade all of us. Yeah, we are. We'll come to five heartbeats to three heartbeats. That's what we're going for. Let's go on three. One, two, three. I got nothing but love for you.

But you know, Envy brings up a good point, Mr. Steal Your Girl. You're not going to be able to steal anybody's girl from the Super Bowl stage. You don't know that. Because you won't be that close to the crowd. So how do you plan to terrorize people's relationship to the Super Bowl? I think you gave me the phrase, the domestic terrorist. I think you did, shall we? Yes.

Yeah. So who coined the phrase oh my god you crazy bro it's gonna be a night by the way my Vegas residency is specifically what it is and my performance at the Super Bowl will specifically be what it is but I will tell you I'm not Mr. Steal Your Girl

that's Trey Songz. I'm the guy who tells you, don't leave your girl around me. So you should have come with your girl. You know what I'm saying? You should be here. There's no guilt. You don't feel bad at all when you see the Kiki Palmer

situations unfold. There's no guilt whatsoever. What would the guilt be that I actually had a great show? No, it's fun, but, like, it just costs so much. Oh, you haven't seen my show yet. Okay, baby. Oh, no, actually, I did. I need you to do a first class.

I got you. I've been. I've been. I've been. I was there. I think it was the second show you did. Shout out to your team. I said it was a different experience.

I said it was an amazing experience. I told everybody that. Your show was amazing. I know it's all fun, but I'm just saying there's so much that stemmed from that. Once it happened with Kiki, I'm like, dang, like, you should get like a, Hey, you good call after like what happens? No, I mean, not only did we get a good, good call, we shot a video too. And the idea was good attention. Yeah, it was, it was, it was to bring good attention to it. Good intention and attention. I think that we live in a sensational time.

We live very 2D. You know, I'm saying life is 1D, 2D, 3D. And I think we live in a 2D space. So the idea of what this is, man, was just about fun and just enjoying, you know, that moment and not missing it. You got to stop. You got to stop. They did a whole Boondocks episode about you. Just so you know, they did that way before I was in Vegas. Just so you're clear. I know that because you have a reputation. You've been doing this, Usher. Stop. It's a good thing though. It's good.

You know what it keeps you? It keeps relationships live. You know what I'm saying? You gotta do your part. You know what I'm saying? Do your part, fellas. That's why we're grabbing your hand when you start singing when we get out there. I'm saying? You gotta do your part. You know what I'm saying? Do your part, Spel. And I think... Go ahead. That's why we grabbing your hand when you start singing when we get out there. I'm gonna hold your hand too. Thank you for telling me I now know exactly who I'm singing to. Oh, Lord.

Now they're gonna come with just them two. It's gonna be y'all three in a circle. Now, Diddy and J.D. are supposed to do this versus, right? You know, you work with Diddy, you work with J.D. How do you stand on that? You know, you work with Diddy, you work with JD. How do you stand on that? And are we ever going to get an Usher versus?

It's not going to happen. You know what? I've said this a million times. There's only like two, maybe three people's catalogs you can't do nothing with. And Usher is one of them. Usher got nuclear weapons. Correct. You brushed by it earlier when you were just like, oh, my musical catalog.

Nah, bro. Your catalog is different. You got nuclear weapons. I can't. There's only one person I think could even stand there with you. Mary J. Blige. And that's it. Mary J. Blige.

I really truly feel that way. That's it. Yep. That's it. That's it. Sheldon, I appreciate your vote of confidence, bro. I do. Yeah, I got warheads.

Let me just say this. Me and Diddy, my brothers, you know what I'm saying? And I think that entire whole process is about the celebration of legacy. We got two men together who have contributed something incredible to my life as an artist. So I'm celebrating both of them. You know what I'm saying? I don't have a dog in the fight. I just know you got two dogs getting ready to fight.

That's what I know. You know, you said something. We introduced you at the I Heart Living Black thing. Yep. And we introduced you, and you was like, yo, man, I kind of want y'all to do that over because y'all introduced me and said I worked with a lot of icons. And you was like, but I am an icon.

And I said to myself, yo, he's right. Yeah, absolutely. And I remember having a conversation with Dream, and me and dream were just talking about how we got to preserve certain people's legacies how as an icon because you are you're a musical icon undisputed how do we preserve legacies like yourself while y'all are still active i don't want to wait until you pass and then everybody's celebrating you. Like how do we do that while you're still here? This might come off biasly, you know what I'm saying? But I'm going to try to do it without thinking of myself. I think that we have to celebrate. I think there's something about R&B artists versus rock artists versus evenhop artists, that is easily disregarded. When you think about Chuck Berry,

you think about Little Richard, you think about Domino Fetch, think about Paul Robeson. You don't even know these names. Some people may not even know them, but they pay for every bit of what we're celebrating in these new means. Rather, it's entertainment based because it was James Brown or Bobby Brown

or Michael Jackson. These are the legacy artists that the architects of what we are celebrating. And you can't forget, you have to find very crafty ways to keep them in the conversation because we we so easily disregard it's just specifically r&b artists i don't know if you noticed that but country artists don't go that remember hank aaron are we uh i i got it all wrong but i'm just saying we hang williams we remember patsyline, we remember these significant artists for what they contributed, but how easily you could just disregard Irwin and Fire or either an amazing

R&B artist who really paved the way, by the way, for all genres of music, because before it was popping, R&B was really the leader. Rhythm and Blues was absolutely the dictator for how all of those genres are set up. That might be real sophisticated. So the short of it is, yo, don't forget people who pay the weights and don't compare old to new because the new is only inspired by what has been done before and did it. Who did it was R&B artists who did it so you preserve it a concern that you don't create comparisons by giving the r&b artists that paved the way the night make sure that people listen your music is is not linear it's there's so many different levels i ain't gonna ever woke up this morning celebrating the angelo br. I woke up this morning celebrating Philly's, you know what I'm saying,

Dionne Warwick. Like, listening to all different levels of music and making certain that our young boys, you know what I'm saying, girls, you know what I'm saying, that they understand, oh, this is where it came from. Like, doing this, you know, it's flipped. It actually explains to you where the song came from. I was watching a TikTok the other day, dude, a girl, and she listened to you where the song came from watching the tiktok the other day dude called girl and she looked to what is the song and he getting ready you know the original

that right here is the reality of what we live and if we don't have that dialogue with the kids to help them understand like yo ain't no comparison the people who paved the way is that is what it is you're walking in the shadows and the steps of the people who paved the way. So don't get to that place where you can easily discard this art because they might not necessarily be as relevant. By the way, we don't sell records no more, bro. You know what I'm saying? Check your

stats. Look at what they would... Who sold records like Michael Jackson? Nobody. Extreme shit. That's cool. But who sold records and been able to sell physical copies like that, especially in this genre. It don't happen. Rob Markman Who sold records like Confessions?

Rob Markman Hey, say that bro. Rob Markman That's a diamond out. Who sold records like Confessions? Rob Markman No, but I'm not here to pop my collar. I'm just talking about, for real, legacy needs to be preserved. Everybody, by the way, in R&b is always trying to you know really figure out who's the king but i i focused my my focus is really on a kingdom you know i'm saying and making certain that we remember r&b artists the same way that hip-hop is remembered

and hip-hop is preserved not just because of the songs that were created, but also to the fashion. Look at what Amiri is doing. Just, you know what I'm saying, with hip hop. You see Mos Def and Talib Kweli. You're like, yo, who that if you a kid? Yo, they giving you culture. They speaking through the clothes. Kanye and them.

Sean Puffy Combs creating, you know, that culture. Fat Form, which is, you know russell simmons it became something more than just the music it became a culture fuck being a king i want a kingdom you know what i'm saying it's time for us to be able to lift that r&b movement up just as much that's why you come to vegas and that sophistication is out there that skate is there that entertainment is there because that's r&b and you don't get that every day that ain't going to be something that everybody gets but it it creates a a conversation that i think is is is i you know what i'm saying when i hear that comparison it's funny especially for people who

have done things that nobody else has done but it's also too misinforming because the new kids they actually think oh yeah if i have this amount of streams or this amount of looks and likes, that was a part of building that legacy, don't matter. Them likes and that love, it don't equate. You know what I'm saying? Oh, I totally agree. That's why I don't like it. And it's no disrespect because these guys are great.

You can't compare a Weeknd to a Michael Jackson. You know what I'm saying? You can't compare Chris Brown to a Usher. They're great. Don't get me wrong. Those guys are great. They do what they do. But y'all just came up in a whole different era.

People had to actually go to the record store and buy albums. The craftsmanship. When I came to your show in Vegas, and I've seen you before this, but I remember when I left the show, I was just thinking, I don't know if I've ever been to a show of any artist in my time right now that I left feeling the way that I did. The detail that you take with the performance, the song, the serenading the crowd, even before that went viral.

I was just like, I don't know if people, if artists that I know are R&B artists take that time. It made you feel good. That's a different type of feeling, and that matters. Well, thank God that me and L.A. Reid decided to start a label. Mega is going to make some new ones. You know, you look at what he and Babyface did with LaFace Records, and obviously what he and I even did with artists like Justin, Justin Bieber.

So it's like, all right, we're coming together. And that artist development, it does matter to be able to understand and make certain that people remember that entertainment matters. It's always been the most important part of who I am. Right. But I think that, you know, there is a way to bridge the gap because I ain't going to discredit the artists who are killing it. You know what I'm saying? because they have a following but we just do things in a different time and and and and it doesn't it's not fair to discredit those amazing artists philip bailey those amazing singers you know amazing jazz and all of these different levels of music it might seem odd to slow down and listen to these songs but it's really up to y'all as the curators to get them to pay attention to it maybe you come up with a factor today maybe y'all as the curators to get them to pay attention to it. Maybe you come up with a fact of the day. Maybe y'all start saying, yo, call in, call us and tell me what this sample is.

And then before you know it, people are being informed. Create new connections to preserve our legacies. Not mine, but the legacy of the things that have assisted us. You know what I mean? Babies were born to these songs. You know what I mean? Story moments that we've had to these records. You know how many amazing things

that track our lives in these songs how easily we can just throw them away and move to the next chapter nah man you gotta you gotta keep it in keep it keep inform your audience you know i'm saying i was gonna everything you're saying don't sensationalize it you know i'm saying we gotta have a little bit of thirst trap there but i'm just just saying for real, you know what I'm saying? Let's be real here. You know what I'm saying? I agree with everything you're saying, and that's why we got to be intentional too about celebrating.

I think a lot of times, especially as men, you're like, oh, man, you dick riding. It's easy to make jokes. It's easy to even critique something when you don't like it, but for whatever reason, it's hard to be like, nah, that's that dude right there. Nah, I'm sure not. Usher's an icon.

Intimate conversations are intended for intimate spaces where you have a broadcasting space what you say becomes the law right there's many conversations of debate of who's the illest mc or the best rapper or the best dancer in the barbershop or even in the private confines of your house but not everybody understands how to process that and it just then instigates conversation and things that are not really about preserving real work and real artistry man now we're talking to us he's over in paris doing his residency in paris i was going to ask so this is your first album where it's almost you're not on a major label it's almost like you're part of it this is like almost your independent where you're putting everything behind this one right yeah uh gamma uh larry jackson's effort you know it far exceeds just me there's many other artists

that are going to come but me in la we started a label under uh gamma called mega wow and um it's the beginning of you know the continuation of our's the beginning of the continuation of our legacy, the beginning of the continuation of our legacy. And it's called Coming Home, the next album. Why Coming Home? Why that name? Coming Home, I mean, there's ultimately been several things that make me feel like I'm coming home. Not even a place, but just a feeling. me reconnecting with LA, me coming home into a space of comfort, whether it's Las Vegas or whether it's just the home that is Atlanta and the home that I'm building there, the coming home of becoming a better man, a better man to my woman, a better man to my family, a better man to, you know, the world and the story that I choose to

tell that don't make me perfect. And I'm not getting ready to, you know, you know, just change the narrative. I'm going to be honest about some of the things that I've gone through to create these songs, which I always have kept it honest in my music, whether you understood it or not. But coming home, even to the culture of where I come from, you know what I mean? I don't know if you saw me. If you go to my IG, you'll see me, you know, doing festival things over in Ghana. When I spent time in Ghana and I went to the original spaces where slaves were brought in off the ships, something about that made me reignite coming home to our original home, the motherland. And all of those things started to sneak their way into my music. Rather it was the algorithms of the song or the rhythm and beat of what was going on with, you know, I'm a piano and Afro beats. All of those things began to instigate my creativity. So I'm coming home in all of those ways.

All right. Well, ladies and gentlemen, Usher, we look forward to seeing you at Super Bowl. The icon known as Usher. That's right. OK, who should always be celebrated. That's right. All right. And it's a beautiful thing to see you at your Las Vegas residency and it's going to be a beautiful thing to see you at the Super Bowl halftime show reminding people why you are indeed Usher Raymond. I can't wait to see the skates at the Super Bowl. That's going to be dope. I just want to tell

Charlamagne one thing. The Cowboys are not going to be in the Super Bowl so I just want to just clear that out right now. Just clear that right now. Well I don't know if they are or not but Usher will be. Usher will be ladies and gentlemen gentlemen I know Usher will be That's right We appreciate you For joining us

Thank you my brother Absolutely I'm so happy That I was able To give y'all this news First I want you to know I selected y'all Cause I fuck with y'all

Okay Just know that We appreciate you Ladies and gentlemen Love back to you Alright it's Usher It's The Breakfast Club Good morning

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