In the ever-ongoing debate about who sits on the R&B throne, Tank isn’t afraid to jump into the fire. During his recent appearance on The Breakfast Club with collaborator J. Valentine, where they talked Hell’s Kitchen, the R&B Money Podcast, and the state of modern soul music, Tank doubled down on a comment that stirred the internet.
He said, plainly and confidently, that Usher is a better singer than R. Kelly. And according to Tank, the backlash was loud, but the reasoning is technical, not personal.
When Charlamagne Da God and DJ Envy pressed him about his online statement, Tank didn’t hesitate.
“Usher is technically a better vocalist than R. Kelly. Way more tools,” he explained.
He acknowledged that comparing the two will always feel like the musical version of the Jordan–LeBron argument — legends at the top of the mountain, each with their own specialty, fanbase, and cultural imprint.
But Tank doubled down on his point: if we’re talking about pure vocal technique, precision, and athleticism…
Usher has skills R. Kelly simply didn’t demonstrate.
Tank used one record to make the entire argument airtight: Usher’s 2012 hit Climax. “R. Kelly couldn’t have sung Climax. Not many people could have sung Climax,” Tank said.
He went on to break down exactly why the song is a vocal masterclass. Usher’s performance includes delicate transitions between falsetto and natural voice, what Tank called “the transfer,” and, in his words:
“…he went from falsetto to natural without hearing the transfer; like that kind of thing, it’s special. Incredible.”
“It’s like watching gymnastics,” Valentine added. “Like, everybody lands, but some people stick…When you’re singing, everybody doesn’t always stick. If you listen to Climax, every note that he sings on that record, he sticks. Period. Ain’t no step back.”
For Tank, Climax is flawless execution: tone, pitch, breath control, emotional delivery, all locked in.
It’s also the reason why so many singers try to emulate it. The song has become study material for vocalists, the same way R. Kelly’s catalog has been studied for swag, songwriting, and R&B innovation.
Usher, he says, is on another tier vocally.
R. Kelly had the pen, the swag, the street-edge persona, the undeniable impact.
But vocally?
Usher’s the gymnast sticking every landing.
