Then I realized I had a talent for writing songs. “Right around that time he dropped ‘My Way’ it was like, ‘Now he’s the man.’” That was motivating for me. His major breakthrough came with 1997’s “My Way,” which featured the hits “You Make Me Wanna.” and “Nice & Slow.”Īustin said Usher’s success inspired him to not give up on music. Usher is just two years older than Austin and released his self-titled debut album in 1994. Me, him, Jason Weaver were riding around. When he got his jeep, he would pick me up. He did ‘Call Me a Mack’ for the ‘Poetic Justice’ soundtrack. He and I knew each other since I was 12 and he was like 13 coming up in Atlanta. I would always go with Carl (Thomas) and Troy (Taylor) and pass the mic.” “That’s back when on any given night, they’d pass the mic around, Joe would get the mic, Dave Hollister would get the mic, Puff (Daddy) brought 112 there one night and they performed. I was 14, 15,” Austin said, namedropping clubs like Cafe Wha? and Chaz and Wilson. “This was back when I had no business being in these clubs. Imagine this: A teenage Austin and Usher running the New York City streets, visiting open mic nights and honing their performance chops.
Pharrell he was writing, Joe was doing the demos,” he said.Īustin recalled the Neptunes duo working on some of their early successes at the time, including SWV’s “ Use Your Heart,” which reached No. I remember Chad (Hugo) had to go back because he had classes. Of those days, Austin remembers being in producer Dallas Austin’s recording studio in Atlanta while “Pharrell was walking around in these big space boots.” Pharrell remembers working with Austin in the early ’90s, telling the AP: “Johnta just had an incredible (gift and he) still has an amazing voice, and he’s a great writer. “To this day, every time I see Pharrell, he’s like: ’That’s my favorite Johnta Austin song of all time,” Austin said. Aaliyah’s “I Don’t Wanna,” released in 2000, not only became a hit on the pop and R&B charts - it is Pharrell’s No.