Usher is part of a massive musical family of some of the best songwriters, producers, and music industry talents across many decades. As such, he has a lot of people to thank for his incredible success, and often takes the chance to give everyone their due. Moreover, during a recent concert, the R&B superstar embraced Al B. Sure! in the crowd, the new jack swing sensation who worked as a writer and producer during the Dallas native's rise. They even started to dance and sing together after the Confessions creative's remarks, which is now a staple of his live performances.
"Aye, man, y'all don't really understand," Usher's words for Al B. Sure! began. "This is A-1 for real right here. My first album, Usher, this man showed me the ropes. He wrote songs for me, was patient with me. Long nights in the studio, I was going through vocal changes and all kind of s**t. We made some incredible moments together. But more than anything, you're a big brother to me, and I just want to say thank you, bro. I love you more."
Usher Pays Tribute To Al B. Sure!
As far as other members of this musical family, though, the controversies roll in pretty fast. For example, Suge Knight recently accused Diddy of molesting Usher and Justin Bieber, as the Bad Boy mogul was one of the industry titans who introduced the 46-year-old to the world. "Everybody knows what Puffy did," the Death Row boss alleged. "There’s not one person that didn’t know that Puffy was f***ing Usher. [...] Usher spent the night with him and Puffy being in the same bed when they did an album. They never put out one song at that time."
Meanwhile, Al B. Sure! has a complicated relationship with his son Quincy Brown, whose mother Kim Porter ended up dating Diddy. As such, many of these moving parts and crossovers have a darker context underneath, but that doesn't mean some genuine love, care, and appreciation can't shine through. Usher reflected that with this mid-show shoutout, even if the online whirlwind around the Sean Combs scandal and all its alleged connections continues to ravage.