By Jill Sieracki , Photographs: Robert Ascroft

rying to pin down what Usher has been up to lately could take hours of interviews and a river of ink. At the moment, he's set to release his sixth studio album, Monster, as well as the third fragrance in his collection, VIP. Then there's his philanthropy work and his eponymous foundation (through which 20 teens will get to direct the first video off Monster). On top of all that, he's the father of two young sons, one-and-a-half-year-old Usher Raymond V and seven-month-old Naviyd Ely Raymond. ("That's all I need, a daughter to make me superweak," he jokes about adding to his brood.) In June, he announced his separation from his wife of two years, Tameka Foster.

With this much going on in his life, it's no wonder that Usher sequestered himself and his crew in Las Vegas to produce Monster. Usher and his team, including music superstars Pharrell, Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox, rented out the third floor of the Palms Resort Casino, then made a daily commute to the resort's in-house recording studio, where everyone from Elton John to Mary J Blige to Axl Rose has laid down tracks. "Vegas is good livin', a product of positive energy, upward thinking," Usher says. "Every time we'd go out to a club, there would be motivation there. [Recording in Vegas] allowed me to open my mind and just be creative and think outside the box." ...

For the full story, Subscribe to Vegas Magazine now!