Usher 'Coming Home' to Atlanta, receives special honors
ATLANTA - Usher was "Coming Home" to Atlanta on Wednesday after his iconic performance at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Usher started the day by being honored by the City of Atlanta and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens with the Phoenix Award at the Black Music and Entertainment Walk of Fame near Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Amazon Music and BMEWOF also revealed an emblem for Usher on the Walk of Fame.
"All these people are showing that Atlanta has great talent, and that we’re doing it on your radio waves," said Dickens. "But we’re really trying to push it forward so people know that Atlanta has something to say."
Usher honored at Clark Atlanta University
The "You’ve Got it Bad" singer got a good amount of recognition during his homecoming at the Cornelius L. Henderson Student Center on the campus of Clark Atlanta University.
The rally, which is also being held in conjunction with Amazon Music, is to celebrate the release of his new album "Coming Home" and his historic halftime performance during the Big Game on Feb. 11.
Usher's New Look Foundation celebrates 25 years
It is also the 25th anniversary of Usher's New Look Foundation (UNL) and Usher also married his longtime girlfriend Jenn Goicoechea after the halftime show on Sunday.
DJ Mars, MC Fly Guy DC, policymakers, school leadership, beneficiaries of the New Look Foundation, and hundreds of students are expected to attend the rally.
DJ Mars opens when Usher performs at the National Football League's Kickoff Concert at Columbus Circle on September 4, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Al Pereira/Getty Images/Michael Ochs Archives)
The university's Mighty Marching Panthers Band with Dr. French led a procession.
The rally will also feature a $25,000 donation to UNL by Amazon. UNL was established by Usher to transform youth by helping them develop into passion-driven leaders. Current and former UNL students will share how the foundation impacted their lives.
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Along with DJ Mars being an alumnus of Clark Atlanta, the school is mentioned in one of Usher's new songs, "A-Town Girl," on the "Coming Home" album.
Usher drops new album
"Coming Home" is Usher's 9th album and is described as a return to his roots and a celebration of his legacy. It's also his first project as an independent artist, and it reunited him with longtime collaborator L.A. Reid, who signed him at the age of 14. Other collaborators on "Coming Home" include Johnta Austin, Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox.
It is widely agreed that Atlanta hip-hop would not be what it is today without the historically Black universities and colleges in Atlanta.
In the '90s, record labels would try out new music on young Black kids from all over the country who attended school in Atlanta.
Many of Atlanta's music executives and artists also attended the schools themselves.
WATCH FULL CITY OF ATLANTA CEREMONY BELOW
Usher tops big week with trip to Atlanta
In the past week, the Grammy Award-winning artist received lifetime recognition, got married and performed a hit Super Bowl Halftime show.
Usher told FOX 5 Atlanta that the city was a major source of inspiration for many of the elements in the performance.
"We opened our arms to the world to come here and understand our culture and celebrate historical black colleges," said Usher.
"This is our culture," he continued. "This is what I love and what I feel in many ways is underserved in terms of where it comes from. A lot of times it may be decoded, you may not understand the source but you’re looking at the source."