Music has morphed a lot in recent years, and so have the Productions, PR Stunts, Media Dynamics, et al. It’s a pleasure seeing the old Players still acing, even with the advent of new Arts here and there. On that ‘old Player scale’, Usher needs no introductions. He has been around for a while and doesn’t look set to leave just yet. His newest offering “Believe Me” is a smokin’ new joint which dropped just after his VMA performance (which caused quite some buzz following his ‘Nicki Minaj moment’) few Sundays back.
For Believe Me, he did a global premiere teaming up with popular soft drink brand Pepsi, as well as dropping exclusively via MTV.com. Talk about good timing and smart PR moves. The single is one of those soft, R&B-type vibes; but the beats are heavy, obviously drawing hip hop influences from the Producer, Mike Will Made It. The Atlanta beat chef (birth name Michael Len Williams II aka Mike Will) delivers a superb job on this, letting the singer soar under the aegis of his studio magic, the result being the ballad Believe Me. The singer serves this bass-thumping slow jam in his signature falsetto, a sullen song that has him filled with regrets and stuff for the many wrongs his partner has suffered. The song is an apology in many shades, with Usher acknowledging his many wrongs, singing:
“Nobody has ever loved me like you do/ That’s just something I’m not used to
So I always push you away/ Even though I know I want you to stay
…I do it all again, hit her up again/ And you don’t deserve it
She ain’t even worth it/ But I still do it anyway
And it breaks my heart/ To know I breaked your heart
Believe me.”
Although Drake and Lil Wayne already have a song with same title, this is nothing similar in aspects of melody and delivery. Usher raises the game typical style, creating once more something for the mainstream audience, as against his earlier releases which have been somewhat lukewarm, just about ordinary at best.
Rate this out of 10 and tell us what you think.
Henry Igwe (@ChibuzoHI)