Not completely BrownSista related, but I loved the cover so much I had to post it. Nothing is more beautiful to me than a Black man with his child and this cover of Usher gracing the August 2008 edition of Essence Magazine, brought a huge smile to my face. It seems like just yesterday Usher was on the cover with his wife Tameka Foster-Raymond, and now the Editors of the oldest magazine in circulation for Brown Sistas, have chosen to give the singer a cover with his son as well. And let it be duly noted that I predicted months ago that the first magazine to get official pics of Usher’s son would be Essence. In the issue you can expect the usual. The singer looks to dispel rumors about the firing of his mom, as well as the reason why he chose to marry Tameka, a woman several years older than him and with children from a previous marriage.
Excerpts:
On Fatherhood: “He’s gonna admire me, he’s gonna look up to me. He’s gonna say, ‘I wanna be’ or he should say – ‘I wanna be like my father.”
His Marriage: “They think that it was forced. I’ve heard a lot of comments like, “Oh, she trapped him.” “He got a baby by her, and then she’s married and she’s set for life.” “No. She wasn’t pregnant when I asked her to marry me. There’s some sort of huge conspiracy over this, the fact that I made these choices in my life. No I grew older. As a man, I have to take responsibility and take a hold of my life. I’m accountable for what happens to my life now.”
Look for this issue to hit newsstands on July 11th.
Nice cover !
And well said words by Usher. He is a grown man and he makes his own decisions.
AWWW, LOOK AT THAT CUTE LIL CHUNKY BABY BOY!! HE LOOKS JUST LIKE HIS DADDY!!!
It tameka looked like beyonce everyone would love her.
Cute baby. I am sick of Usher explaining himself though. I would prefer he put that energy into creating a good CD next time.
Nice picture. He’s right he does make his own decisions…….so why didn’t he decide to put all of the kids on the cover with him; he is all of their daddy now. (just playing devil’s advocate)lol
Aww the baby is so cute! It does seem like just yesterday he was on the cover with Tameka…..
Beautiful picture. It’s sad he had to keep answering the same question over and over again. Even more sadder how people criticize a woman and continue to degrade her every chance they get. I’m happy for them…it’s their life!! Much respect to Usher for being a grown man and making his own grown man decisions!!!
I agree Smokie, the explanations are getting so old.
“Tameka need a blond weave blue contacts and a ligther skin and everyone will congratulate usher ” a sister said that on an other blog and everyone agreed with her 2008 still working in the plantation …..
THe picture is nice and an advice to usher
boo no one is paying your taxes at the end of the day 90% of the people talking are just doing that…talking
don’t even explain yourself for real
LOve
Hopefully Usher will be a good father to his son as well as a good husband to his wife. Other than that I`m really NOT interested in his PERSONAL life; it`s just that, it`s his life. I`m not anymore interested in his personal life than I am in any celebrity`s personal life. It doesn`t pay my bills nor put food on my table. He doesn`t need to explain himself for my benefit because it`s none of my business. I`m only interested in Usher, the artist. I got his new CD and I really like it. He`s shown his growth with his music because this CD is much more mature.
He didn`t get caught up into the trap of trying to make another “Confessions ” and that `s a good thing. Growth is what every artist should strive for.
Concerning the cover on Essence it`s very good. Hopefully, though, he`ll stop explaining himself. I consider it to be very trivial….
“Everybody” by- The Jacksons
Oh everybody, get down on the floor
I love the way you shake your thing
You make me want some more
I`ve had my days of standing on shaky ground
I want my life so fancy-free
I know that I can do it
I have to let me be
And I`ve had enough
And I know what`s right for me
I`ve done my time and I have paid the price
All you have to do
Is state my name out loud
Forget your worries
And let`s dance and shout
All you have to do
Is state my name out loud
Chorus:
Oh everybody, get down on the floor
I love the way you shake your thing
You make me want some more
Usher’s mini me LOL. He’s a handsome little guy. Usher doesn’t owe ANYBODY an explanation about his marriage. It’s his life & his wife. I hope he reconizes that.
Awww, lil urrsher is sooo cute. This is a great cover.
But seriously Usher needs to stop talking about his marriage and stop being so concerned about what his fans think of his wife and outsiders in general.
I know ppl went hard at Tameka and a lot of it was just hate. If he loves her and thinks that she’s the finest woman on the planet good for him but IMO he just played into the foolishness when he defended why he choose to get married. And now he needs to leave this subject alone and talk about something else.
dark sista,
wow someone really said that?..
if hes truly in love im happy for him
and it seems he is…
Dark Sista..
finally somebody sees the light…Damn if the girls looked like J-lo,Beyonce,Rihanna etc..it would be great but you know what? Some artist grow up but the fans don’t, it sad to say but true.
Question….Do Black Women LOVE themselves? Most do, but I’m a tell ya that I know people that make it a point to make diffrences between Light and Dark sisters all the time…Not to bring up and old issue… we discussed this about two weeks ago but I feel it is getting worse….anyway….just my thoughts
Cute baby & pic… I am REAALLY getting tired of him explaining himself. U married her, ur happy, u excited blah blah… GREAT for you! But honestly the rest of world is tired of hearing about it. Once again I never got the indication that people didn’t like Foster b/c she was ” too dark” . Thru out all the things I have heard was b/c of the mom being fired & not liking Foster & bad attitude… oh yeah & the alledge affair that she had w/ Usher. Not to mention the let’s get engaged & pregant before the ink on her divorce papers dried. I get sooooooo tired of black ppl using that as an excuse as to y ppl don’t like them.. u know the I am too dark or light scenario… the “other” man really messed up the community instilling those ideas in SOME of our heads. And SOME of us only make it worst by constantly using & keeping the ideology alive.
Can’t ppl just not like you b/c they hate the way u may treat ppl. Can someone not like you b/c you may have a foul mouth, you lie, cheat, steal… u know those seriously meaningful/ moral things in life.. you know , the inner person. Black people you NEED to let the dark/light skin thing go. By the way I find Tameka’s skin to be BEAUTIFUL & FLAWLESS. I also applaud Usher for continuosly being w/ brown sistas & marrying one. However if the person’s inside isn’t straight it doesn’t matter if ur light or dark, u WILL be a ugly person.
Very cute pic. Hopefully this is the last time that he feels that he needs to explain himself. I will say that I am not feeling this CD. Although I will agree that he has matured and this CD reflects that, I’m just not feeling it. But it does appear that he is a good husband and father and that is what really matters.
I don’t think that people were hating on Tameka because she was dark skinned, I think people hated on her because she was with a man that other women wanted to be with. Beyonce is light skinned with blond hair (although weave) but look at how much hate she gets. Jealousy is a powerful emotion. I wish Usher and Tameka all the best.
excuse me black america!!!!!! why does usher have to continue to explain why he married a beautiful chocolate black woman????????????? if she were light, bright, damn near white or totally white i bet no one would question his choice in choosing his wife!!!!!!! how come we didn’t question puffy when he cheated on a beautiful sista to hook-up with j lo? why don’t we question kobe, james earl jones, sidney portier,cuba gooding,montel williams, meki peiffer, the wayans brothers, wesley snipes, michael jordan, charles barkley, tiger woods, john legend, kanye, most black athletes and actors, shall i go on? wake up sista i’m happy ushers give sistas love he is one of the few, be proud instead of hating on each other!!!!!!!!!!!!
awww thats sooo cute
Aftre reading every comment made by everyone, for a minute i thought i was reading about RACISM and HATRED, But among My own Black Folks. JLife is too short and precious to keep commenting on BLACk/LIGHT. Just give a simple comment like NICE COVER. And that`s it. STOP all the long comments. Just keep it simple and swet. Useher Looks great with his son.
People disliking Tameka Foster has nothing to do with her being a dark skin woman. What turns people off is that this woman disrupted a son’s relationship with his mother.
She is a mother herself and should respect the relationship this man had with his mother. She should have embraced it. Instead, she manipulated him and got the man and the golden child to secure her future. Usher turned his back on his mother and eventually, just like Kobe did, he will suffer the consequences and will need her. You never turn your back on your family and true friends.
As the old people use to say, “Never bite the hand that feeds you.” So many of these celebrities get on their high horse and forget where they came from. But, God has a way of bringing you down and reminding you of where you came from.
Awwwwww, his baby is so cute, awwwww….
Spitting image of him…..
Well I wish Usher and Tameka all the best with their marriage, and I hope it lasts for a long time…..
But his baby is gorgeous, I’m all broody now… LoL
How cute is his little man!
Yes im tired too but it did damage his career to the point he hiring his mother back. He pissed off too because lil wayne sold more then him. I do not think usher hit a million records. I do not mean to say this but in this industry world it seem like when you with someone you really love i know he love her, and the public or fan have alot to do with your career it seem like the public dictate your life and what you suppose to do who you suppose to be with. You see when he was with chilli everyone was loving it but know he with tameka there a problem. I want them to make it but i know they will not because of the blacklash he getting. To the point i did not buy his album he did not move me with this one.
I think Usher didn’t marry whom people thought he should have a married. People more like people who look like him probably would have preferred him to marry an extremely almost barely there black woman and now it’s pissing people off that he didn’t.
Do you think it was a coincedence that slave owners couldn’t stay away from black women. No it’s not we are the best woman out there. Despite all that we have gone through and continue to go thru there is nothing on this earth better than us. That is why we have the protection and the covenant of God. He married his black queen and I for one am happy for them and wish them all the happiness and success in the world.
And, all these black women need too stop dogging this woman out. All she did was fall in love with a successful black man married him and then had his beautiful son. Let’s praise our selves and see the beauty in ourselves. Until we do that who else will see our beauty. Love yourselves black women. We are worthy of the best that life has too offer us.
Usher’s baby is adorable…he looks just like his daddy!!!!
@ Tanya; u right about that Usher’s baby boi looks likes him but thank god he dont have Usher’s nose
or maybe the reason why he been hidin’ this cutey is b-coz he been visitin’ the surgery to fix the baby’s face middle part i mean the nose ?? jst kiddin ya’ll don get mad @ me :()
Usher is a stand up black brother. And I love the fact that he loves truly loves his wife. Unfortunately there are more unhappy people in this world than happy people; so Usher can’t expect people to support him in droves. He’s hurt and I understand it. Sometimes you get so disappointed when people aren’t happy for you. When I got married, I lost friends; cause people were jealous. I heard Oprah say that when you rise above and beyond people’s expectation for you people really get nasty. Nothing could be more truer. The reality is that most people are happy when you are down on the bottom with them. But you’ve always have got to take the high road.
@Get Togetha; thank u sooo much 4 wat u jst said i’v heard it b4 but u reminded me of something so especial wat u wrote is true honest living up 2 people expectations really is like living on the adge because ive also been through somethin in those lines like tryin 2 please a guy in high skool who gave me nothin but hate and im still in high skool now im more than happy 2 say 2 find me someone that luvs me 4 me
You all know the last thing a Black woman wanna see is another Black woman happy. For all our complaining about brothas and non Black women, when a brotha do get a real looking sista, we are the first to put her down based on her looks. No one here knows their personal business. Prove that Tameka tore Usher away from his mom? And are you morons so dumb as to think that Usher was going to sell a million in a week twice? No one does that **** today. A million in a week twice? Wake up dummies. You have all been had again by gossip that cannot be proven. This mess came from either the post or daily news and both are notorious to getting their info about black ppl jacked up. They have do9ne it time and time again. Usher had great first weeks sales and after 5 weeks on the charts he is still in the top 10. Stop always looking for the negative and get with the facts. Usher is a married man with a beautiful son and you bi-t=ches just need to deal with it.
Chey:
Are you serious…we don’t know anything about the relationship with his mother.They reported for two weeks Beyonce was pregnant and Oprah has been Gay forever..I have heard many comments from Professional black women who say, she wasn’t what they thought he should have married and dare I say this is the majority.
As for anyone who feels the light/dark issue is not something we should be discussing….get real without discussion there is stagnation. In order for anything to be changed it must be discussed(Obama and his speech on race). Soooo get over it….Peace and Love
Yeah… they light skin vs Dark skin sh** SHOULD be discuss.
How about start seeing HUMAN BEINGS instead of skin shade???My God, some people…
One legacy some “Black” Americans take from white supremacy is racism. Some look down on others because of their different skin shade. It’s a danm shame, for isn’t that what MLK died fighting for?
Whoa, Usher has a cute kid….I like Tameka and Usher as a couple—I like seeing black love. I really don’t care about her age or her kids or her skin shade. They seem happy together and that’s what counts. She’s a year younger than Chilli and no one complained when he was dating her. She just doesn’t fit the mold and she and Usher have said in past interviews they know this. It’s sad how they keep having to explain themselves. He picked a dark-skinned single mom…so what? He plans to be great father to their kids. I have mad respect for him for following his heart and not trying please everybody else.
Great cover, appealing father son relationship at an early age; I love it. It is truly inspirational to see a black father with his son whoever it may be! Must admit both father and son is handsome; Tameka is blessed!
I hate when people say/write things like “Oh get over the color issue…stop speaking about it for we are all human blah blah blah. I find it hard not to talk about since it still affects the lives of millions of people of African descent (and also darker skinned East Indians). Skin color will always play a role in our lives. Modern racism will continue to evolve and people will continue to believe it’s done and over with. How many of you actually believe that discrimination is dead? How many of you actually believe that systematic racism is gone? Please watch some television. Watch the ignorance on BET and MTV for these two channels are the two main networks on our youth’s repertoire. Please look and see what is truly being shoved down our little girl’s throats. There is an 8 minute video on youtube that will allow you to see that in the 21st century, our little girls will still choose a whiter doll because the black doll is ugly.
Black women (especially the darker-skinned ones!) have the lowest self-esteem. Our billion dollar hair and urban fashion industry screams low self-esteem.
Yes Bee it was on ****************">****************
People are so ignorant its scared the hell out of me i’m a dark skinned sista and i’ve been raised by one of the strongest black women to ever grace this earth so i never and i mean never felt insecure about my skin…But them i try to imagine beign on tameka’s shoes right now being disrespected daily because you’re missing what mos of black america define as criteres of beauty
THat’s ridiculous I think tameka is a decent looking woman i bet she can cook clean and sex her man better than any heifas on these blogs blabbing about her
Some people need to get a grip there is a limit to that “freedom of speech”
see i cant be a celebrity i would track one of these ignorant heifas down and beat it out of her to make an example …
See who messes with me ….
B-Itche’s
I like some of Usher’s stuff, but every time I see him a big red sign that says “Man *****” goes off in my head. Not in a mean way and it’s probably not even accurate, that’s just always happens. His son is cute though (and let’s not pretend that all babies are) and I hope he grows up well and Usher and Tameka make great parents. I suppose Usher talks out and explains things because at least then you can say you tried.
This skin thing is something I didn’t come across until I started visiting this site. I suppose I don’t get it because I don’t think that way. I take people as people instead of judging their race or skin tone or whatever, because that’s the way the world should operate.
I’m sorry but i have to say this;
So sick and tired of hearing comments like “he’s a Black man taking care of his child/ family”. Why is it a shock? Are all Black men not playing their fatherly roles? May be it’s because i was not raised in America , but to me a Black man being there for his family is not surprising.
Usher’s baby is really cute. It is a nice picture.
Flo,
color struct will cease when people start to see human beings instead of skin shades. The human race comes in various hues and it’s very beautiful. People should learn to appreciated themselves as they are [And appreciate the diversity]. If you don’t appreciate your own danm self, how the hell do you expect somebody else to do so for you?
Color struct affect SOME darker shade hues because some let it [This also goes for other hues]. Skin shade will always play a role in your life ONLY if you give it this power over you in the 1st place.
Of course, discrimination and racism will exist…as long as some people continue to see skin shade & as long as some people continue think “My skin shade makes me superior & more beautiful than…”
I, on the other hand, know better. Until then, other people’s discrimination will leave me unscathe because sadly they are a prisoner of their own vision. They can’t see the bigger picture.
People may discriminate against you because of your skin shade, What’s your excuse for discriminating against others because of their skin hues???
Self esteem is taught. The teacher fail to do a good job on these little girls. It’s a good thing one is never too old/too late to learn.
@English Babe, SnijanaFleur, & Majesa
Very good points that you made.
@ flo
No one is saying that racism in general is dead. There is no question that racism has evolved. Instead of lynching, they’re killing us, meaning the black community, w/ poor education, non existence employment, jail cells & etc. No one is blind to that, well @ least I am not. However, my problem comes in WITHIN the Black community b/c SOME of us are the ones who still hold onto racist views when it comes to light vs. dark skin. If ANYONE should know how racism hurts it should be US. We have ENOUGH racism & other issues coming at us from other races, why help them out by tearing down another black person by calling out their shade of skin. Not only that but why also continually blame the different shades for reasons why that person may not be successful, this of course pertains to the black community.
The example of this is this Tameka Foster deal. Many black women, including herself, are stuck on the “they don’t like me b/c I am dark” or ” I bet if she was JLo they would love her then” scenario.That in my mind could be farther from the case, b/c in my mind I see Angie Jolie as a home wrecker & if Jlo had did some fouls stuff she would be scum of the earth too. I am a dark brown sista & I have never really went on the light skin? dark skin deal. I am GLAD that I was raised to see a person for what they were/ are & not light & dark. Black is BEAUTIFUL in ALL shades. This constant bickering within the community about the shades is just another racist tact that was used by the “other” man to keep the community divided… it’s a damn shame too, b/c it’s obvious it’s working.
Nice to see a black entertainer with his kids and not dressed like a thug
And the color code and barrieris alive and infiltrating into the heads of young generation.Sorry blame it on the rain but if Tameka Foster was JLO or another fairer complexioned woman she would not be deemed and criticised not to mention chastised half as much. The things that I have read about the m=woman is so sad I havenever heard any entertainer wife called or regarded with such venom .I refuse to repeat some of the names and things that were being said .The main culprits are ethnic people ,which gives insight to how much pressure and effort is being invested in dark skin vs light skin .
I guess what I was trying to say was that the color issue is still alive and well. The race issue is still alive and well. It’s retarded how some people try not to talk about it, as if it’s gone. These same people act as if it doesn’t affect their lives (either in a negative or positive way). My skin color says something about me before I have the chance to speak. After I have the chance to speak to other poeple, they will show some sort of surprised face that says “Hey, that was a complete sentence.” Just by looking at me, many people assume I am from the Caribbean or West Africa which is funny because I never thought Black Americans had a certain “look”.
We are judged by our skin shade. It’s not that I ALLOW others to do it, they do it anyway, but it is up to me to accept it. I don’t accept the negative bullsh*t attached to my skin shade and I laugh at the few yet rediculous compliments it receives.
@Stacey
Well sista, if that’s way you see it, then that’s the way you see it. But as I said, me personally I refuse to let the “man” encourage hate for another brown sista just b/c she’s dark, light, or any of the black shades in between. If I am going to dislike u, it HAS to be for something worth while, not just b/c of ur skin. Denzel’s wife is a beautiful chocolate, Michael Jordan’s ex is a beautiful chocolate, & so is Magic’s wife, yet u have never heard anyone talking negative about them. Obviously if ppl never picked on these women who are married to successful black men, it MUST be something more happening than color w/ Ms. Foster, who is close to these other ladies shade. If JLO or any of these lighter chics had problems I would talk about them just like the rest b/c it’s the ACTIONS not they’re skin color. Black is black is black in my book & I refuse to add myself to the number of Black ppl who are brainwashed by this destructive thinking in the community… sorry no can do.
I got my Essence today and Usher looks so brown and sexy with his little bundle of joy! The pics are really nice!
Err…I haven’t ever heard anyone slag off on Tameka because of her skin color. She tried to use that line and it appears many of you guys have run with it. If you look on all the gossip blogs (black and mainstream) ever since Usher and Tameka went public, there is ZERO mention of her skin color. All of the dislike has come from Tameka’s alleged behavior and the shady way she and Usher got together. Plus, people are really baffled by the fact that he cheated on Chili, used that to sell albums, and then married Tameka. It didn’t help that Usher went batshit insane and started going after the owner of the largest fansite devoted to him. Both of their behavior has been terrible all around, and no amount of Usher defending his life, parading his son around and claiming to be a “grown man” will erase the bad taste it’s left.
All the haters need to put what the tabloids and blogs say about Usher and Tameka aside and ask themselves :
- Do I know Tameka personally to have that strong of an opinion of her?
- What do I know about their relationship?
- How do I know she’s not a good wife and mother?
- What do I exactly KNOW FOR A FACT? Not the rumors, not what TMZ reports. What FACTS do I know?
- How come most people think she’s ugly, but are quick to consider below average looking women like Paris Hilton and Jenifer Aniston “sex-symbols”?
- What makes me think I know about her more than HE does, and that he didn’t make a rational decision and doesn’t know what he’s doing, when he’s been knowing her for at least 10 years?
- Why am I so concerned with Usher’s own personal choices for his own life?
I agree wholeheartedly Whateva.
Unfortunately, gossip is gossip is gossip and people don’t care about those profound questions when it comes to snippets/rumors/lies about celebrity life. It’s the unfortunate price that celebs have to pay because most people feel that celebs should experience some type of suffering for all the money that they make. That’s why people don’t care that the paparazzi stalk and harass the ish out of celebs.
Also,
People just forget that these celebs are human beings with real feelings. Think about your wife/girlfriend, boyfriend/husband and let the whole world; including your own people talk greasy about them. Whether you’re rich or not it would hurt like hell.
I know I should be through with this and what I am about to write is completely off topic, but has anyone heard about Young Berg and his dark butts comment?
I agree with Angela. The only people mentioning skin color are the ones running with what Tameka say. It is a poor excuse for claiming why some don’t worship Tameka because she is not YT. It sounds dumb to say “Oh she is not YT” when most of us are African-Americans. Angela made a good point. Where in any blog have anyone said her skin complexion is not good enough? Mostly I don’t think people really care for Tameka. I think some feel Usher and Tameka display uncalled for behaviors that we see not as genuine. He fires his mother, than he talks sideways about Chilli, than he wants to close a site that was totally devoted to Usher. Usher used to be a gentleman, maybe the rumors about him being arrogant all the time are true. All this drama did not start until Tameka made an appearance. And it does not help that his performances have been lackluster. Not to be mention his album was really not up to par (no hate). “Love In the Club” was ok but the lyrics left alot less to be desired. BTW the baby is soooo damn cute.