Usher Raymond is a 22-year-old R&B singer or 'hip hop crooner' from Atlanta with an impressive resume. Usher's 1997 album My Way sold a whopping 7 million copies worldwide while the man has also won several prestigious awards. He also made a career as an actor and toured with greats such as Mary J. Blige, Janet Jackson and Puff Daddy. Usher doesn't make viscous R&B but 'hip hop flavored
… pop'. The single U Remind Me, taken from the album 8701, is closer in style to a singer like Will Smith and the up-tempo ladies trio Destiny's Child than to the ballads of R. Kelly, for example. 8701 is the fourth Usher full-length re-produced by top producers Jermaine Dupri and Antonio LA Reid and contains a large number of strong tracks. I don ' t Know and the single Pop Ya Collar, for example, contain contagious hip-hop breaks that give the album momentum and 8701 does not go out like a candle. (BP)more