Usher is prepping the launch of his UR Experience Tour, which kicks off Nov. 1 in Montreal.
During a prep session this month, he sat down with Billboard to discuss just about every aspect of his life, beginning with a background that included hanging with all the older dudes on Bad Boy (they called him "Baby Huey").
"I got to see performers like Tupac Shakur," he said. "Redman, Method Mad, Ice Cube. I got to perform onstage with The Notorious B.I.G., be in sessions with him and Craig Mack. I got to be part of the driving force that was Bad Boy, that was Puff [Daddy]."
The UR Experience Tour features an acoustic section of music that Usher likens to an unlikely artist.
"There's something magical about the Dave Matthews Band," he said. "Even though [Dave Matthews is] playing for a huge audience, he's bringing them into his own private space."
Usher's private life — two kids, 2009 divorce — has been on display for years, but he's appeared to have settled down with current girlfriend/manager Grace Miguel.
"She's someone who has been able to support and understand all of who I am," he said. "Not just as a dancer or as a performer or as a singer, but as a humanitarian and a businessman and as a person.
"One thing that has come from having a great partner like Grace is being able to cherish the places that I've gone," he says. "We see the monumental sites, go to the museums, eat in the best restaurants. I'm that guy now! In the past I'd do what I have to do and get on the bus to the next city. Life has become a vacation."
Oh, and here's the story's best passage:
Usher sees the UR Experience tour as a journey through his entire varied career, from his start as Michael Jackson-channeling teen sensation through his reign as R&B's biggest star to his current place as one of pop's elder statesman. "This will be one of my freest tours," he says. "S---, I'm singing love songs that went on to be baby-makers -- and now the damn babies are in the audience." He cracks up. "Talk about a family reunion."
