My Way [PA] - Usher (CD 1997)

In 1994, little known Usher Raymond released an album that was produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs. It went brick. With less than 100,000 in sales, young 16 year old Usher was just a footnote in music history. Except that Jermaine Dupri and LaFace Records came along and saved him.

In 1997, the then 19 year old Usher (no last name needed) released a track called You Make Me Wanna. People went wild. Girls were throwing their panties at their radios. Guys started to hate him. And Usher was born. You Make Me Wanna was that song that seemingly anyone who had a crush on someone else could relate to. The synopsis is that Usher's crush was on his girlfriend's friend who was the one that introduced them to each other.

You make me wanna leave the one I'm with
Start a new relationship with you
This is what you do
Think about her and the things that come along with
You make me

The song had clout very early on. Usher went from ashy to classy in what seemed like overnight. He was all over the radio with the hottest song in the country. If not for Elton John's ode to Princess Diana, the song would've been number one on the pop singles chart.

There are two schools of thought with this album. The first is that he was simply a product of what LaFace and Jermaine Dupri thought they could market to radio. Speeddemon531 even created his own term for how they handled him. He said they Tevin Campbellized him. Well, maybe the flirty Tevin. Usher wasn't singing about just talking to girls. He was singing about how he was going to get at them and freak them if they let him. The second school of thought is simply that at 19 years old, he was of the age to sing sexy records, which wasn't the case just three years prior. While this Usher might not have been the real Usher, or at least the braggadocious Bobby Brown Jr. that he eventually became, I believe that this was the toned down Usher that was the result of a badly received rookie album. He wanted to be himself, but didn't know how much he could show of himself so early on.

Nice & Slow slowed it down for the young and sexy. He even spelled his entire name for you just in case you didn't know. While not in the same stratosphere as future slow jams like Burn and U Got It Bad it was the perfect second single for his new and young female fan base. Slow Jam, the duet with Monica was the romantic ballad the complimented the freakier Nice & Slow.Slow Jam was a much prettier song and was also on the soundtrack to the movie Soul Food which was released on the same day as this album.

The title track is hot for about one second. Actually, it features a hard hitting beat that you can get into, but that's where it stops. First off, Jermaine Dupri is all over the song muffled through what you'd think was a megaphone of some sort, but was probably just a studio trick. Secondly, Usher tries to rap about senoritas and two seaters. As hot as it could've been, it was even cornier. Even worse is the plodding Just Like Me featuring two verses by the five shades darker Lil' Kim who tries her hardest to mimic the Notorious B.I.G.'s vocal tone and flow. And she fails miserably.

I Will and One Day You'll Be Mine (which samples the same song Ice Cube did for It Was A Good Day) keep it on the slow tip. While both songs are serviceable, he doesn't come close to matching the energy that was created by You Make Me Wanna. Bedtime is the signature Babyface track of the album.

There is an added extended mix to You Make Me Wanna, which is the version they sometimes played in the clubs.

You can't hate on the album as Usher went from young hopeful to superstar in just 40 minutes. He wouldn't fully realize his potential until fourth album Confessions, but I still find this album more pleasing than his third release 8701 because that album featured an Usher who thought he was on top of the world and would never fall off. My Way is a fun listen that grabs you with the first song and tries to keep you hanging on.