USHER COVERS NYLON MAGAZINE...GUY EDITION

The 35-year-old singer, who moved to NYC at 15 to work with Diddy, discusses his role as Sugar Ray Leonard in the upcoming biopic Hands of Stone and why he doesn’t give “two shits” about his fans’ musical input.

In between recording his eighth album and coaching “The Voice,” Usher finds time to pose for the June/July cover of Nylon Guys, which hits newsstands today. The “Good Kisser” looks sharp, modeling casual and comfortable looks in the photos shot by Kenneth Cappello.

Usher has been in the studio with Chris Brown, Ed Sheeran, Skrillex, and Diplo working on the follow-up to 2012′s Looking 4 Myself.

On being mentored by Diddy: “Artist development made me who I am. Somebody took the time to help me find what it is that works for me as an entertainer and who I am as a music maker.”

On playing Sugar Ray Leonard in the biopic Hands of Stone: “I wanted to show a different side of who I am, not just throw my acting chops toward a romantic comedy. When I played Sugar Ray, everything was Sugar Ray. Every day I trained like a boxer. I ate like a boxer. I moved like a boxer.”