Usher recalls seeing ‘pretty wild things’ at Diddy's home in resurfaced interview: "There were always..."
A resurfaced clip of Usher talking about his fellow pal Sean "Diddy" Combs has grabbed viewers' interest! The 'Love in This Club' singer appeared on a 2016 episode of 'The Howard Stern Show,' where he reflected on the year he spent living under the same roof as Combs when he was just 13. During the interview, Stern asked Usher whether it was LA Reid's idea for Usher to live with Combs. As per Stylecaster, Usher stated that there were "very curious things taking place" during the time he resided with Diddy in New York City. "I got a chance to see some things. I went there to see the lifestyle — and I saw it."
The 46-year-old musician further added, "I don't know if I could indulge and understand what I was even looking at. It was pretty wild." While chatting with Stern, Usher revealed that back in the day, there were many renowned artists including Lil Kim, Craig Mack, Biggie Smalls, Mary J Blige, and Faith Evans hanging at Diddy's place. When questioned if he was staying up till 4 am while partying with Combs and his team, Usher said, "Yeah!" Usher recalled that he "could" and "actually stayed up longer than them," describing the whole experience as "crazy." When Stern asked if he would ever let his children attend Combs' camp, Usher didn’t hesitate, responding, "Hell, no."
In a conversation with People magazine, Usher reflected on his time at Combs' house. "I can remember Outkast making their first records and being able to hear Rico [Wade] work on these songs, literally sleeping in this man's living room, being in the dungeon, just kind of being around and just trying to figure out who's who," he recalled. He emphasized that it wasn’t just about the music but "the energy," adding that the hip-hop artists "were teaching me and showing me how to act and how to present myself."
He further recalled his first encounter with Combs who invited him to New York to work on music. "I got a tutor, went to New York City, and he began to show me the ropes. Some of the most valuable lessons I could ever learn as an entrepreneur were picked up when I spent that time in New York with him, this unwavering desire to create and make certain that your creative ideas executed," he told the media publication at that time. Usher raved over Combs' dedication towards his work and continued, "I saw him in the real time working it out, him building something from nothing, him understanding how culture and collaboration could build careers. Being able to see that, that's what I got."
In a 2004 interview with Rolling Stone, the Grammy winner also disclosed that Combs introduced him to "a totally different set of s*** sex, specifically." Then, Usher explained, "Sex is so hot in the industry, man. There was always girls around. You'd open a door and see somebody doing it, or several people in a room having an orgy. You never knew what was going to happen." Currently, combs has been in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his September 2024 arrest for sex trafficking and racketeering charges, as per a report by BBC. His trial is all set to begin on May 5.