Usher taps dancehall power producer Don Corleone for his new single “Pressure.”
The link-up between the R&B singer and the producer was put together by producer Rico Love, according to Don Corleone. The two met for the first time at the famous AfterMaster Recording & Mastering Studios in Hollywood, CA. “I got a call from Rico Love (an American producer) one night asking me if I could come to a studio in Hollywood, California and be prepared to work,” Corleone said.
“I went to the studio and to my surprise, Usher was in the studio. So, Rico said let me play something for you and he played me this demo that he did,” the producer added. “It has only a few keys on it, so he then asked if I could make it fire with that dancehall sound. I made it on spot and it took me like five minutes to complete it.”
Don added that Usher loved what he heard and Rico Love then suggested that they include a female dancehall artist on the track. Corleone said he made it happen but can’t disclose the name of the female artist who will be on the track, but there are already some rumors that it’s dancehall newcomer Shenseea. “We recorded her the next day at Hitmaker Studio in Kingston… When Usher and Rico heard it, they both loved it,” he revealed.
Don Corleone is the first Jamaican based producer to produce a song for Usher which makes it a big achievement. Dancehall music has been reshaping the sound of mainstream pop and hip hop over the past two years and more established artists are now looking to Jamaica to get the authenticity of that sound. Justin Bieber, who was discovered by Usher, dabbled in dancehall for his last album, and we’ve seen artists like Drake, Rihanna, Tory Lanez, and Chris Brown all release dancehall influenced singles.
