"I'm in love with a stripper," T-Pain sang in his 2005 hit "I'm 'n Luv (Wit a Stripper)." Last night (June 26), Usher released a song "I Don't Mind" with a similar sentiment, and he too is all about his girlfriend stripping, but this time he's in it for that cold, hard cash.
"Shorty I don't mind if you dance on a pole / That don't make you a ho / Shorty, I don't mind if you're working 'til 3 / If you're leaving with me," he sings in the opening bars, before telling his "dancer" girlfriend to make as much money as possible (even though he later mentions he makes more than enough for both of them).
There's a lot of things problematic with the lyrical themes of "I Don't Mind..." Usher giving his girl permission to work, encouraging her to work the pole and the money-centric focus of his lyrics instead of "Hey, if stripping makes you feel good, exercise your feminism, girl!"
But beyond that, there's something else... the music just isn't that good.
The thumping bassline recalls the similarly bogus Usher single "Good Kisser," and the rest of the music sounds like it should be a love song, with its smooth vibes and Usher's soft croon but instead he's singing about, well, stripping.
The main misfire here is the combination of the lyrics and the music; on their own, each would maybe be OK, but when combined, this song just oozes of sleaze. Eww.
Listen to Usher's "I Don't Mind" below, via Rap-Radar:
"I Don't Mind" is the second single from Usher's eighth studio album, tentatively due out for release later this year.
