For nearly six minutes, Usher pleads to his woman to work with him on saving their relationship. Take “Can U Help Me,” for instance, another track produced by Jam & Lewis. Hits aside, 8701 was a solid album all-around. The latter tune also earned Usher a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 45th ceremony. The album also spawned the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “U Got It Bad,” co-produced by Dupri and Cox, and The Neptunes-produced “U Don’t Have to Call,” which peaked at No.
“U Remind Me” wasn’t the only hit on 8701.
But then he’s taken the reins of that and built an amazing career from that.” He’s like a musical student that’s been mentored by a lot of great creative people in his life. Then, the maturity from that into the Jermaine Dupri My Way era, into the 8701 era. “Then he went from that to the DeVante Swing- ‘Can U Get Wit It’. It sounded like little Michael Jackson,” he recounts. “I look at Usher and I think about when I heard his first song, ‘Call Me A Mack’, where he had the little boy voice. Jam goes into describing how Usher naturally evolved over the years prior to 8701. He contributed his skills on “Intro-Lude 8701” and “Without U (Interlude),” with support from Jam & Lewis.Ī post-teen Usher, 23 at the time, had told JET Magazine that 8701 reflected his “evolution as an artist.” Looking back 20 years later, Jam agrees, citing it was “a moment of growth.” Usher showing his growth as an artist wasn’t anything new, though. Similar to his sophomore album, My Way, Usher was involved with the songwriting process of 8701 - and production, too. In addition to working with Jam & Lewis on his third LP, he teamed up with other producers such as Babyface, Bryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri, Mike City, Soulshock & Karlin, The Neptunes and Soulshock & Karlin.
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