THIS WAS FOR #TBT ON REVOLT
“I was basically talking to myself and the lyrics were just coming out,” says Jermaine Dupri about the magical in-studio process that led to Usher’s Confessions, a time-stamp for Generation Y and one of the defining R&B records of the last decade. The singer’s Diamond-selling album about love and love lost turned 10 last year, but the milestone really continues on every listen.
Usher’s ‘Confessions’: The R&B Record That Defined Generation Y
While sitting with REVOLT, JD, one of the masterminds behind the untouchable classic, recalled the process in making songs like “Confessions” as well as the meeting that ended up making history.
“When we first starting making Confessions, we went to L.A. Reid’s house and [he] told us that Usher wasn’t interesting,” recalls the legendary hitmaker. “He was like he makes hit records, but he wasn’t an interesting artist at that point, like people didn’t no nothing about him and what his life was about.”
How Usher’s ‘Confessions’ Changed My Life
Despite how harsh the sentiments seemed, especially with Usher sitting right there alongside JD at the time, Reid’s straightforwardness came off as motivational. He felt like Usher should become part of everybody’s life, all throughout his record and so, we left his house stone-faced like, ‘Hmm, so what do we do? You’re CEO just told you that you’re not interesting.’ So the next thing we said was we need to get out of Atlanta. So we left Atlanta and came to L.A. and we just started working at Babyface’s studio.”
At that point, the magic had already started. For more on JD’s full recollection, including eavesdropping on Usher’s phone conversations with Chilli and the real meaning behind the line “I’m at the studio,” check out the chat above.