On his seventh studio album, LOOKING 4 MYSELF, seven-time Grammy winner Usher takes some bold steps into unexpected musical territory. Assuming the most active role of his career as a songwriter, and working with a wide range of producers and collaborators—including Diplo, Swedish House Mafia, Max Martin, Will I. Am, and Empire of the Sun—one of the best-selling musical artists in history has blended electro dance beats with his signature, era-defining R&B, pop, and hip-hop sounds to create a style that goes beyond category.

To Usher Raymond, LOOKING 4 MYSELF represents the next stage in his own coming of age; it's a project he could not have undertaken until this phase in his life. "As a young artist, you live vicariously through others until you have your own experiences," he says. "Younger artists might have to go through just doing one thing, like how Picasso had his blue period. But as you grow older, you become able to articulate yourself better and know what works for you.