In recent months, as she’s battled for full custody of her two kids, Tameka Raymond has slung some harsh accusations at ex-hubby Usher. Now, the R&B star is stepping up and defending himself.

According to TMZ, Usher has asked a judge in Georgia to dismiss his ex’s suit, insisting that her case is based on lies.

Back in November, Raymond claimed that the ‘Lil Freak’ creator has repeatedly violated the terms of their joint-custody agreement. In particular, she charged the singer with traveling outside of Georgia with the children, hiring nannies without her approval and depriving her of money to hire a nanny of her own.

She also said he took away her Saks 5th Avenue card, something he patently denies, and last month, she tried to make him take a drug test.

The warring former spouses are due in court on Feb. 27, when things will undoubtedly get a whole lot uglier.

We really would like to send out a Happy Birthday to MR. MUSIC himself, Usher. He gets a little older today and we must say we are partying for him . This man continues to break down walls, he is a true entertainer. Enjoy your birthday URIV.

The National Civil Rights Museum, the historic site of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has announced it will present the 2011 Philanthropy Freedom Award to Usher Raymond for the work of Usher’s New Look Foundation. Established in 1999, the foundation certifies young people in four leadership pillars – talent, education, career and service – to ensure their success as leaders throughout the world. Usher is one of the best selling music artists of all time and has won seven Grammy Awards, four World Music Awards, six American Music Awards, and twenty-two Billboard Music Awards.

The core programs managed by New Look include the New Look Leadership Academy, Moguls In Training, Powered By Service and the World Leadership Conference. New Look has also made impacts internationally in Kenya, Haiti and Manila. There are five chapters of the foundation: Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New Orleans, New York and Detroit.

Some of the work by the foundation includes: Keep Reading »

Allegations of song theft are on the rise. Most of these disputes never get to a jury, but R&B superstar Usher is on the verge of facing one over allegations he stole material for one of the biggest hits of his career, “Burn,” from a songwriter named Ernest Lee Straughter.

Last month, a California federal judge found there to be sufficient possibility that Usher and co-defendants who produced the song had access to Slaughter’s work, “Reasons,” created in 1998. The judge accepted a musicologist’s report that noted substantial similarity between the songs and denied a motion to dismiss the case on summary judgment. That means a jury might have the rare opportunity to listen to two songs and determine if the Usher song was stolen.

But before that happens, Usher’s camp is pleading with the judge to re-examine whether there was any chance he was familiar with Straughter’s work.

Attorneys for the defendants, including Usher, producer Jermaine Dupri, EMI April Music, Sony Music, Arista Records, and others filed a motion on Friday that asks U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder to reconsider her August order denying summary judgment.

In the case, Straugther alleges he created a song entitled “The Reasons Why,” which showed up on an album by the R&B group Reel Tight under the name “No More Pain” in late 1998.

To make the claims stick, Straughter needs to show two big elements – that the defendants had access to his work and there was substantial similarity in the songs.

Here’s a YouTube clip of Usher’s “Burn” and a clip of Reel Tight’s “No More Pain.” Hard for us to hear significant resemblance, but an expert for the plaintiffs submitted a report that the two songs shared measurable similarities, including a “highly unusual” 18-bar introduction, musical instruments that enter at the exact same bars, similar guitar and vocal stylings, the pitches and phrasings of certain melodies, and other compositional congruity. Keep Reading »