RATING: 4/5

An artist as prolific as Usher deserves all the attention that he gets. It goes without saying that he has some of the hands-down best R&B slow jams (“Nice & Slow”, “Burn,” et al), club joints (“Yeah”, “O.M.G”), and guest verses (R. Kelly’s “Same Girl” and DJ Khaled’s “Fed Up”). His full length “Raymond v. Raymond” is a solid record with several huge singles on it.

“Versus” is the accomplishing EP from the “Raymond” sessions.

Along with several original tracks, “There Goes My Baby” is on this EP, along with a remix of the Usher/Justin Bieber collaboration track, “Somebody to Love.”

The simple fact that Raymond decided to put out a stand alone EP for these tracks scores major credibility points. It would be so easy to just put these tracks and a few other B-sides together for an odds and ends collection, or just throw it together and call it a “mixtape,” but he decided not to. Opting to make this EP as concise as possible is a positive thing for sure.

For this reason alone, “Versus” succeeds. It doesn’t feel forced in the slightest, and certainly merits a listen. As much as it may pain a college-aged person to listen to Justin Bieber, even he can’t ruin Usher’s flow on “Somebody to Love.” The remix version is much better, rest assured. Sure, the song would be best without Bieber entirely, but he is on the track, so just deal with it. The track showcases Usher’s uncanny ability to carry a song even when it should suck.

“Get In My Car” is an awesome, awesome song. Bun B comes in and spits a couple rad verses, and Usher matches his flow step for step. One of the pillars of Usher’s appeal is his ability to croon like a ‘70s Motown artist and at the same time be able to spit like a lifelong emcee. Having the skill to keep up with a member of UGK on one song and then sing with the biggest teen heartthrob since that one vampire guy is quite a feat, and nobody pulls it off like Usher Raymond.

Its hard to believe its so late in the review to mention this, but “Hot Toddy” is a great track, and Jay Z’s verse is once again outshined by Usher. Quite impressive indeed.

“Versus” is a great EP. More than a collection of throwaway tracks, and the originals are great. Sure, the single from “Raymond” didn’t necessarily need to make a repeat appearance, but its such a good song that its hard to hold it against him. This EP is certainly worth a listen, and could provide some awesome jams for those back-to-school mixtapes people keep making for whatever reason.