Hip-Hop Media Training

Usher Impressed By Taylor Swift’s Hip-Hop Swag

By | Hip-Hop Media Training – Sat, Oct 15, 2011 12:23 PM EDT

Usher on country music artist Taylor Swift: "She's crunk for real." (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)Usher on country music artist Taylor Swift: "She's crunk for real." (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty …Taylor Swift may have outdone herself when her Speak Now tour passed through Atlanta earlier this month. Continuing with her tradition of inviting surprise special guests on stage, she brought hip-hoppers T.I. and Usher out to perform their respective hits, "Live Your Life" and "Yeah."

When Usher received a call from Swift, he interrupted a play date at the park with his boys, Usher V and Naviyd, to take up the offer from the country darling.

Usher on country music artist Taylor Swift: "She's crunk for real." (Photo ...

"It started off as a simple day in the park with the kids," Usher said in an exclusive interview with Yahoo! Music. "We have minivan adventures. Taylor hits me, and says, 'Yo Ush, I'm in town. I'd really love if you could come out and do 'Yeah' with me.' I'm like, 'Well, we haven't had any rehearsals.' [She said], 'No, no. The band's got it. You just show up.'"

[ Photos: Usher on stage ]

Usher said he had two hours to make the trek across Atlanta to the Philips Arena. But his oldest son, Usher V. wasn't disappointed about shortening the time at the park. He was excited when he saw the stage.

"My son [was] looking at the stage saying, 'Daddy, I want to go on stage.' I'm like, 'Son this is not Daddy's show. It's Taylor's show.'"

Usher said he was impressed with Swift's hip-hop demeanor. She offered a convincing baritone-fueled version of Ludacris's rap in the song.

"For real, you guys don't even understand. Taylor, yo, she's crunk for real," Usher explained. "In Atlanta, she came out. She did her thing. I didn't know she and hip-hop swag like that. She came out and they enjoyed it. Then, the finale, my kids came on stage."

For more of Usher, tune in on October 15 at 7 p.m PT for "A Decade of Difference" concert. He'll be joining artists like Lady Gaga, Juanes, K'naan, Kenney Chesney, Bono and The Edge to celebrate the charitable works of President Bill Clinton. Watch it, only on Yahoo!

Follow Me (new Facebook page):

Follow Yahoo! Music:

News for You

  • The new consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony

    NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft is the last of the three big video game console makers to unveil its latest gaming system. The unveiling comes nearly eight years after the Xbox 360 went on sale. It follows last fall's debut of Nintendo's Wii U and a preview in February of the upcoming PlayStation 4 from Sony.

  • Singer Kellie Pickler named new 'Dancing' champ

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kellie Pickler came into the final "Dancing With the Stars" episode in second place but finished in first.

  • Woman on Trump: 'Somebody had to stand up to him'

    CHICAGO (AP) — An 87-year-old woman who alleges Donald Trump cheated her in a skyscraper-condo sale told jurors Monday she had qualms about suing the real estate mogul and TV celebrity. But, she quickly added, "Somebody had to stand up to him."

  • Disney-owned ESPN cutting hundreds of jobs: source

    By Liana B. Baker (Reuters) - ESPN, the sports channel that is Walt Disney Co's most profitable unit, is cutting 300 to 400 jobs across the company and closing a small Denver office, a person with knowledge of the cuts said. The job cuts, comprising 4 to 6 percent of ESPN's staff of 7,000, include open positions that will not be filled, said the source, who asked not to be named because the information is not public. But ESPN will continue hiring for other open positions, the person said. The channel has recently won rights to exclusive coverage of the U.S. ...

  • Man pleads guilty in Picasso vandalism case

    HOUSTON (AP) — A man accused of vandalizing a 1929 Pablo Picasso painting in a Houston museum — an act that was caught on cellphone video — agreed Tuesday to a two-year prison term as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

  • NY Cuomo letter warns Kardashian over T-shirt logo

    ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's sent a letter to Khloe Kardashian informing the reality star the logo on her T-shirt line may be violating copyright law.

Show More