[slate claps] – Watch this. Yo, what’s up, GQ ? It’s your boy, Usher. These are my essentials. [chill trap music] Watch this. [crew laughing] Well, you watch this, but you can’t quite see it yet. [color bars beep] Catch. [cup slides] Ooh! [crew gasps] [color bars beep] [fingers snap] [crew chatters] [slippers thud]
[crew laughs] [color bars beep] Yo, this is like a bloopers day. [crew laughs] Yo, this is Usher’s bloopers reel. [text beeps] Now, this thing has been with me for a very long time, means a lot to me. It’s personal. For all of my fans, you know what it does mean to me.
Man, where would I be without the [necklace jingles] “U”? So, a little history on the “U”. I mean, it’s been, you know, changing every album, every cycle, since the beginning of my career. It was the first thing that was a signature of mine.
It looked like this, and it wasn’t blinged out like this. But you know, I mean, I was ballin’ on a budget. So I made do. The “U” has always meant something, you know, that’s been tied to me as an entertainer. I designed this “U” with a jeweler
Out of Los Angeles, California, Joe Rosenberg. First one I designed 100%. The idea just kind of came out of, you know, I’m looking at everybody with their chains. Mostly hip hop artists, you know what I’m saying? They either rockin’ Jesus pieces or crosses.
I was like, “Yo, I want something that’s a symbol of mine.” My “U” was something that I wanted to, I wanted to brand. [necklace zips] There you go. [chill lofi music] [text beeps] I roll, I skate. See me backwards, forwards, whatever it might be. Sides, gliding. That’s what I do.
So I keep my skates with me. But not just any skates, my Rick Owens custom skates. [clicks tongue] In the South, we kinda customize our sneakers. You know, you go out West, you know, Stacy Adams, you go up, you know, North, it’s a little bit of flat bottoms and maybe even boots.
You go to Chicago, they really rock boots. For me, I wanted to do something that no one would’ve done. And that’s take my Rick Owens shoes that I always wear and put quads on the bottom of them. And they got little stops. Sometimes I don’t roll with the stops.
You know, if you a pro, and you know how to really roll, then you don’t need the stops. But these, you know, I try to keep it safe. I use these on stage. I use these when I’m rolling around the world, when I’m at Flippers, you know, in London, or at Rockefeller Center.
But I put ’em to work. Yeah, man. [text beeps] This next essential is a product of [bag thuds] the war I’ve been in. I know y’all like, “What the fuck kind of bag is this?” [all laugh] [bag thuds] In this bag, there are many essentials. But this, [items rustle]
The purpose of this is to make sure that no matter where you go, you already ready, set. I got lotion in here. I got a pick in here, which I don’t have long hair anymore. I have deodorant. I got a comb, I got a brush. But more than anything, what I do have
That you might not understand and know the importance of having it, is a durag. This is my durag. [laughs] This is the process of how you tie the durag. You gotta get the ‘do right, baby. Gotta get the ‘do right. Ooh! Ooh! There we go. You’re straight. Waves be spinnin’, baby. Ooh.
That’s how I keep these waves poppin’. You know what I’m saying? [chill electronic music] [text beeps] This next essential is something fairly new. I started it just, you know, doing the residency in Las Vegas. You know when you go out to a bar, I mean,
You want to make sure you got a clean glass, so why not bring your own? So I always keep mine with me. But they not just any glasses. They’re Baccarat glasses. [lid drops] Yeah, man. [glass thumps] I don’t need a glass. I bring my own. I like Cognac, you know what I’m saying?
You know I like it neat, so don’t make me chase ya. Yeah. [chill electronic music] [text beeps] [package glides] Everybody wants to talk to somebody that’s got fresh breath. But not just any fresh breath. Tridents Tropical Twist fresh breath. The first time I smelled this, I was like, oh yeah
I’mma kill ’em with this one. I tried bubblegum. I’ve tried, you know, spearmint, peppermint. But, you know, the freshness of this, and also, too, I think the Tropical Twist is just something different. It’s like, “What is that? [sniffs] You have such fresh breath.” It’s that Trident Tropical Twist. [laughs softly]
[chill electronic music] [text beeps] I got a question for you. Where is 8701? [doll slides] He’s at Usher’s- Well, he is Usher, too, right? We are at Usher’s GQ shoot. He’s been on a world tour, but I keep him with me everywhere we go. You know, he be turnin’ up.
I’ve been documenting this Funko “Where’s 8701” tour. He’s been everywhere from Saudi Arabia, you know, to the clubs in Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles. He’s been on private planes. This dude has actually been at Formula One races, man. He’s been everywhere. [doll slides] And now, we can say he was here today.
I’ve definitely made it a point to document all the places and I will be sharing with you guys, if I haven’t already, where he has gone and what his travels have been. 8701 out. [chill funk music] [text beeps] These things have always been a pleasure to me.
And you should have a pair too. [fingers snap] [slippers thud] My slippers. Yeah. Yo, I wear these things whenever I’m taking a break. If I’m on a plane, if I’m at the house, you know, you go to people’s houses, you don’t want to necessarily walk around in like, shoes. It’s disrespectful.
You know, my mama raised me well, so I take my shoes off at the door. And you know if I got these, then I’m cool, right? I ain’t just walking around in my socks, dirtying up my socks, you know. Everybody hate that. You know what I’m saying?
Just messing up your socks on people’s floors and stuff. And then if you don’t have socks on, you just nasty like that. You should have these. They come in handy. So I always make sure I got mine in my essential bag. [chill electronic music] [text beeps] [container slides] All right.
This is something that I picked up along my travels. I would happen to be in Australia and I tasted Australian strawberry licorice. Not just any, you know, licorice. You can go get all the, you know, the Twizzlers and all that stuff. But mm mm mm mm mm. [taps plastic] This right here
Is a delicious treat. And I always have to have it. I love it. You can do, like, regular black licorice. Some people like that. You know me, I don’t. I prefer [lid crinkles] my strawberry Australia licorice. Mm. [lid snaps] So good. I like sweets, but this is, like, ridiculous.
Like, the level of sugar in this is just crazy. But it gets me right, you know what I’m saying? Gets me a little bit of what I need. I need a little pick me up. You know what I’m saying? There’s not too much, you know. But I do have a sweet tooth, yeah.
[chill electronic music] [text beeps] [candle slides] All right, here it is. This is my Tuberose Diptyque candle. I’d like for you to, you know, remember the experience that you’ve had when we’re together. So I try to create an essence, you know what I’m saying, that just lingers. When I leave, it’s still there.
Tuberose Diptyque. By the way, I use many different candles, but this is one that always, always works. It’s a bit sexy, you know what I’m saying? It has some spices in it. It really lingers. It really gets in your clothes. And walk away, you’re like, “Man,
I feel like I was just in a vibe.” I mean, when you settin’ a mood, you don’t want to just like, have like, a standard candle, you know what I’m saying? Like, you gotta have something special. So I put a little thought into it.
I remember going to L.A. Reid’s office for the first time and he had Baies Diptyque candles. And I was like, I can’t be smellin’ like L.A. You know what I’m saying? So I gotta find my own, you know what I’m saying, scent. So then, I found this one.
Yeah, there’s a lot of people that probably burn it too, but, I burn it different. [instrumental trap music] [text beeps] This essential is one that’s been with me for a long time. Everybody knows that Usher wears his shades. So, I always keep a little collective.
I got like a little four-pack of some of my favorite shades. I wear shades if it’s dark, if it’s light, you know what I’m saying? It’s just, it’s an added accessory to my personality, you know what I’m saying? It’s been a part of a lot of my looks.
I feel super duper, you know, comfortable in my glasses. But there’s different shapes, you know what I’m saying? You got your more modern, square joints. It’s real, real thin. And then you want to step it up a little bit, thicken ’em up a little bit more. This is showtime right here, you know?
You want to go get a little frisky, the BluBlocker tint, you know what I’m saying? And no, these ain’t just standard BluBlockers. These are Chrome Hearts BluBlockers, you know what I’m sayin’? And more Rick Essentials, you know what I’m saying? I mean, I love my shades. I wear tons and tons of shades.
[text beeps] I thought we were done, but I got one bonus for you. This is the essential of all essentials. A cashmere sweatsuit. Hoo, man, I feel like I’m completely on a cloud. It don’t matter what kind of plane I’m on or what kind of car I’m in,
I feel like I’m just wrapped in a blanket. This is my Rick Owens cashmere sweatsuit. [breathes deeply] Yeah, I love that. Yo, by the way, I just fall asleep wherever I’m at. You know what I’m saying? When I got my, you know, Dolce Gabbana fur slippers on
And my Rick Owens cashmere sweatsuit, man, it’s like I’m in a blanket, literally, wherever I’m at. [laughs] [graphic beeps] There it is. That’s my essentials. GQ. Yeah, man. You watched this. [laughs] Peace. [color bars beep] [necklace jingles] Oh shit. [color bars beep] [necklace jingles] Oh shit, it’s backwards. [crew laughs]
– [Director] That’s a cut! – It’s blooper day. [all laughing]
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