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The Verzuz talks have dwindled, but that isn’t enough for Usher.
The singer wants people to put even more respect on his name and would like to be crowned as the king of R&B officially.
In a recent interview with SiriusXM’s Radio’s Bevelations, host Bevy Smith said that she feels like Usher is ready to own the title of king of R&B and asked if he’s prepared to take that title.
“If you call me that, I’ll definitely carry it. I’m going to tilt my crown knowing that I’m standing on the shoulders of all of the icons of our time,” he said before paying homage to the genre’s legends. “It is Michael that I stand on the shoulders of. It is James Brown that I stand on the shoulders of. It is Ronald Isley that I stand on the shoulders of. It is Luther Vandross. It is Barry White. It is Teddy Pendergrass. It is all of these incredible artists like Marvin Gaye that will never be forgotten as long as there is a breath in my body to breathe.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Usher touched on another debate within the R&B lane; its pulse.
Diddy had social media going crazy when he tweeted that R&B is dead and proceeded to host a series of Instagram Live chats with artists like Timbaland, Mary J. Blige, and Kehlani to discuss the genre’s current state, where he blatantly said, “R&B is motherf-cking dead as of right now.”
Usher reveals that he completely disagrees with Diddy’s stance, saying, “When I do hear people, even like Puff saying, ‘You know R&B is dead.’ He sounds nuts to me. It sounds, it sounds, it sounds crazy.”
Listen to the clip of Usher on the Bevelations podcast above.
