Usher released his new song, I Cry, today as his emotional response to this unprecedented time in our lives.
He will be donating his proceeds from the record to LISC, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, a core partner of the Global Goal: Unite for Our Future campaign. LISC is one of the nation’s largest nonprofits investing in underserved communities and communities of color across the country.
LISC provides grants to minority-owned small businesses that are the lifeblood of their neighborhoods and local economies, and that are reeling from the health and economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This song was inspired by wanting to teach my sons that it is ok for a man to feel emotions deeply and to cry. Like many men, I was raised to believe that we have to be “tough” and not show our vulnerability, which I don’t want to teach them,” says Usher.
Usher will also debut the track live tomorrow at Global Goal: Unite for Our Future – The Concert. The concert will be a globally televised and digitally streamed special that will highlight the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has on marginalized communities – including people of color, those living in extreme poverty and others facing discrimination.
“While I was shut in during the Pandemic and watching the death of George Floyd, the ongoing slaughtering of Black men and women, the protests and the events that unfolded, I became very connected to the wider universal feeling of hopelessness. Like many, I grew increasingly frustrated by how slow things have been to change. I became very depressed thinking about all sons who have lost their fathers to police brutality, social injustice and violence; the daughters and mothers too. So I returned to this song and realized it was intended for this time, so I finished it and here it is,” Usher revealed.
I write like I think—fast, curious, and a little feral. I chase the weird, the witty, and the why-is-this-happening-now. From AI meltdowns to fashion glow-ups, if it makes you raise an eyebrow or rethink your algorithm, I’m probably writing about it. Expect sharp takes, occasional sarcasm, and zero tolerance for boring content.
