Roots of Usher

Thomas Tyrone "Tye" Tribbett is an American gospel music songwriter, composer, producer, singer, and multi-instrumental musician. Tye Tribbett is best known for his blending in various subgenres in Gospel Music, which each aim and vision of his music serving the specific era it is in. He is also best known for serving the role of choir director and founder of the Grammy-nominated and Stellar Award-winning gospel choir Tye Tribbett & G.A., during the 1990s and the 2000s.

Menahan Street Band is an American, Brooklyn, New York–based instrumental band formed in 2007, that plays funk and soul music. The band features musicians from Antibalas, El Michels Affair, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and the Budos Band. The group was founded by Thomas Brenneck while living in an apartment on Menahan Street in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick. Their debut album, Make the Road by Walking, was released in 2008 on Dunham, a sublabel of Daptone Records and was followed by The Crossing in 2012.

Michael Eugene Archer, better known by his stage name D'Angelo, was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. Widely regarded as a pioneer of the neo-soul movement, Billboard named him one of the greatest R&B artists, while Rolling Stone ranked him as one of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. In 2025, he was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.

Jordan Alexander Ward is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. He began his career as a dancer before transitioning to music. Ward launched his professional music career in 2017. In 2023, Ward released his debut studio album, Forward. Ward was nominated in 2024 for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist at the 55th NAACP Image Awards.

Jason Andre McDermott, better known by his stage name Stylo G, is a British-Jamaican rapper, record producer, songwriter and singer known for his three hit singles "My Yout", "Call Mi a Leader" and "Soundbwoy". "Soundbwoy" peaked at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. He also featured on the hit song "Come Over" by the British electronic group Clean Bandit. He also got famous for his collaboration with Divine for the song "Mirchi".

Amber Denise "Sevyn" Streeter is an American singer, best known for being a member of the girl groups TG4 and RichGirl where she was known as Se7en. She signed to Atlantic Records and released her debut single "I Like It" in 2012.

Jonathan H. Smith, better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper and record producer. Regarded as a progenitor of the club-oriented hip-hop subgenre crunk, his production and voice presence were instrumental in the genre's commercial breakthrough in the early 2000s. He was also the frontman of the group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, with whom he has released five albums.

Christopher Brian Bridges, known professionally as Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he first began rapping. Starting out with a brief stint as a DJ, he formed the record label Disturbing tha Peace in the late 1990s to release his debut studio album Incognegro (1999). After its single, "What's Your Fantasy", became a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, the album was re-released by Def Jam Recordings as his major label debut, Back for the First Time (2000). The latter album peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and spawned his second top 40 single, "Southern Hospitality".

Donell Jones is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer from Chicago, Illinois. He met record producer Eddie F in the mid-1990s and signed with his record label Untouchables Entertainment, beginning his career as a songwriter for its parent label, LaFace Records. He signed with the label as a recording artist to release his debut studio album, My Heart (1996), which was met with lukewarm commercial reception despite yielding his first Billboard Hot 100 entries with its singles "In the Hood", and his cover of Stevie Wonder's "Knocks Me Off My Feet."

Ryan Leslie is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and businessman. Working predominantly in contemporary R&B and hip-hop, he has released six studio albums and written songs for artists including Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Chris Brown, Diddy, Fabolous, LL Cool J, Kanye West and Usher, among others.

Sean John Combs, also known professionally as Diddy, is an American former rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is credited with the discovery and development of musical artists such as the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, and Usher, among others.

Livingstone Etse Satekla, better known by his stage name Stonebwoy, is a Ghanaian Afropop, Afro-dancehall and reggae musician from Ashaiman, Accra.

Sean Fenton, better known by the stage name Elijah Blake, is a Haitian-Dominican singer, songwriter and record producer. He wrote songs for Keyshia Cole, Rick Ross, Rihanna, and co-wrote Usher's number-one R&B hit, "Climax".

Jonathan H. Smith, better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper and record producer. Regarded as a progenitor of the club-oriented hip-hop subgenre crunk, his production and voice presence were instrumental in the genre's commercial breakthrough in the early 2000s. He was also the frontman of the group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, with whom he has released five albums.

The Afghan Whigs are an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio. They were active from 1986 to 2001, reformed briefly in 2006 and again from 2011 to present.

Corey Latif Williams, known professionally as Latif, is an American R&B singer and Grammy nominated songwriter. He was the winner of Teen People's Who's Next contest. He was a mentee of Teddy Pendergrass. He was once signed to Universal Motown Records.

Kiana Ledé Brown is an American singer and actress. She first starred as Zoe Vaughn on the second season of MTV's horror series Scream (2015–2019). She also starred as Veronica Washington on Netflix's original series All About the Washingtons. Brown began her recording career in 2012, releasing two extended plays (EPs) until singing with Republic Records to release her third EP, Selfless (2018). It spawned the single "Ex", which received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her debut studio album, Kiki (2020), peaked at number 30 on the Billboard 200.