Usher was already a regular on the New York City party circuit well before he was old enough to legally purchase his first bottle of Moët. Born Usher Raymond IV on Oct. 14, 1978, the Dallas native grew up working-class in Chattanooga, Tenn. His parents split when he was a toddler, and he was raised by his mom, Johnetta Patton, who worked as a medical claims manager. ''I never had a relationship with my father,'' he says. ''He was a drug addict. He wasn't there by choice.'' A gospel-trained vocalist who began singing in the church choir when he was 9 years old, Usher was a natural talent who won the Star Search male teen vocalist competition at age 13. That's when LaFace Records cofounder Antonio ''L.A.'' Reid (who now heads up Island Def Jam) signed him and sent him to live in New York for a year under the supervision of an unlikely guardian: a rising hip-hop hotshot named Sean ''Puffy'' Combs, who had been tapped to produce Usher's 1994 self-titled debut disc. ''It was terror,'' recalls Usher. Indeed, even keeping up with the omnipresent party that Diddy is today would send the sturdiest of us to an early grave — but back in the '90s? It was an entirely different story. ''I was exposed to the lifestyle of a young, fly A&R who was the man in New York. He took me to clubs. I was around women. It was like swagger camp. I said, So this is what I do when I finally make it.... But you have to be very careful about what you allow your kids to be around or see. I'm a product of the environment.''
That product became a hugely bankable, young sex symbol with famously chiseled abs. From 1994 until 2001, Usher released three increasingly successful and sexually provocative albums, and, old beyond his years with experience, found himself enticed by older women: ''I really was dating for maturity because that's what I thought I would get — a person that has some stability. She also has to be understanding, patient, kind, and supportive.'' His attraction to older women would play out over and over, including his marriage last summer to his wife, Tameka, 37.
In 2001, Usher thought he'd found a potential Mrs. Raymond when he began dating ex-TLC singer Rozonda ''Chilli'' Thomas, a single mom seven years his senior. That same year, he dropped his third CD, 8701, which made him a bona fide pop star, earning quadruple-platinum sales. But in an era when celebrity is synonymous with scandal — and in spite of his May-December romance with Chilli — Usher's lack of shocking behavior made him seem almost too squeaky-clean. ''It's been a challenge for him to make being talented exciting without all the scandal,'' says his close friend and former LaFace exec Kawan Prather. ''Other than his relationships, he doesn't have a lot to talk about.''
NEXT PAGE: ''I was just looking for good times. In the club. Not living right. This woman. That woman. Uncertain. Unsure.... But there does come a time when you start thinking, Who's gonna love me and take care of me when I'm down?''
You Might Also Like
- All About Usher
- Music Commentary 2006 Grammy predictions: Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
- Music News OutKast, Usher blaze new trail of artist-led labels | Margeaux Watson
- Music News Looking at celebrity summer camps | Margeaux Watson
