To know Usher is to know that he came from humble beginnings, but the road to become Dr. Usher Raymond IV wasn’t always smooth sailing.
As the keynote speaker at Emory’s 2025 Commencement, the crooner also received an honorary doctorate from the university on Sunday (May 12.) His speech reflected on a pivotal moment from his youth that helped shape the man he is today. “I’m not just accepting this honor for myself. I’m accepting it for every kid who’s ever been told ‘your dream was too big; your neighborhood was overlooked or your voice was too quiet.’ For me, this moment is far more than a ceremonial moment filled with accolade and celebration for things that we all have done. It’s personally deep for me,” he began.
Usher recounted a story that he’s “never publicly shared” about being so “academically far behind” after moving from Chattanooga, Tenn. to Atlanta and he was ultimately “assigned to remedial classes, which at the time felt like a judgment on my ability.”
The father of four was admittedly “discouraged,” but he used his frustration to fuel his passion. “Though I was misunderstood and passed on, that was the point of investment that I had to make in order to find my purpose. Because of that passion, I felt it would lead me in the right direction and it has,” Usher continued.
“Before I could sing, before I could dance, before I was a doctor,” he joked, “I had passion.”
Usher explained that “the system” wasn’t equipped to handle “a student like [him]” and couldn’t “help prepare [him] for the future [he’d] have” and as a result, he became the global superstar and philanthropist we know and love. “To go from that moment, to standing here and being honored by one of the most prestigious institutions, Emory [University], is truly full circle and proof that the journey is the destination.”
Watch the King of R&B‘s full keynote address above.
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