One of the biggest performers in the world took a brief intermission from stadium life to experience a different kind of show. R&B superstar Usher was on hand at Howard University as his eldest son, Usher “Cinco” Raymond V, officially began his freshman journey at the prestigious HBCU.
Usher and Cinco’s mother, celebrity stylist Tameka Foster, helped their 18-year-old son settle into life at Howard. The family also attended the university’s Freshman Pinning Ceremony, a formal rite of passage that welcomes new students into the Howard community.
For a few days, Usher was not the Grammy-winning headliner commanding stadium stages across North America. He was simply a proud father watching his son become a Bison.
“This is just the beginning, man,” Usher told Cinco in a vlog-style video shared on social media. “What a wild and amazing adventure. You’re here in the Mecca. It’s your time to shine, kid.”
Usher welcomes his son into an HBCU legacy
Cinco is the fifth Usher Raymond in his family line. His father is Usher Raymond IV, but the nickname “Cinco” has given the younger Raymond an identity of his own.
That independence became a central theme of Usher’s message to his son.
“You wanted this. You manifested this. You called this into action,” Usher said. “You didn’t give up. And now this is just your beginning, man. I’m so proud of you.”
Usher also celebrated the moment on Instagram.
“So proud of my son! U did this. U made this happen,” he wrote. “Now it’s your time to show em who U are.”
The message carried additional weight coming from one of the most recognizable entertainers of his generation. Although Cinco arrives at Howard with a famous name, his father made it clear that college represents an opportunity to build something that belongs to him.
At Howard, Cinco will join the Class of 2030 at an institution known throughout Black America as “The Mecca.”
Howard ceremony makes the moment bigger
Cinco did not simply arrive on campus and receive a dorm-room key.
His entry into Howard included the university’s Freshman Pinning Ceremony, one of the signature events of Bison Week. Howard describes the ceremony as a formal rite of passage marking the official induction of new students into the university family.
During the ceremony, incoming students receive a Howard University pin. It symbolizes their commitment to academic excellence, leadership, service, and the university’s values.
That history made Usher’s presence more meaningful than a typical celebrity campus sighting.
He watched his son enter an HBCU tradition that spans generations. The ceremony did not celebrate who Cinco’s father is. It welcomed Cinco into the responsibilities and possibilities that come with becoming a Howard Bison.
Tameka Foster documented another side of the transition. She shared footage of herself cleaning, decorating, and preparing Cinco’s dorm room before the family said goodbye.
“Bittersweet doesn’t even cover it,” Foster wrote. “I cried before I left home. I cried on the way back. But I couldn’t be prouder watching him step into an HBCU, into his own life, into a future that’s completely his to build.”
From stadium stages to Howard University
The family milestone arrived while Usher is in the middle of an enormous professional run.
Usher and Chris Brown are co-headlining The R&B Tour, a major North American stadium production featuring two of the most successful R&B performers of their generations. The nearly three-hour show has become one of the summer’s biggest concert attractions.
Howard’s pinning ceremony took place on Aug. 9, between tour stops in the Northeast and Canada. Usher was scheduled to return to the stage at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts on Aug. 17.
The timing gave him a window to trade choreography, lights, and packed stadiums for move-in boxes, family embraces, and one of the most historic ceremonies in HBCU culture.
His attendance did not require postponing or canceling any tour dates. Still, the moment resonated because Usher appeared fully present for it.
The video was not simply a quick photo opportunity. It captured a father helping his son move into a dorm, walking through the Howard experience, and delivering an emotional message as Cinco began the next chapter of his life.
Usher’s connection to HBCU culture
Usher did not attend an HBCU, but his connection to HBCU culture has been visible throughout his career.
That relationship reached its largest stage during the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show. Usher selected Jackson State University’s Sonic Boom of the South to perform alongside him before an audience of more than 100 million viewers.
The production also featured members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., bringing elements of Divine Nine culture and HBCU showmanship into one of the most-watched musical performances in the world.
Usher has also maintained strong cultural ties to Atlanta’s HBCU community. He has appeared around the Atlanta University Center and publicly represented Morehouse College, including wearing Morehouse apparel during the PGA Tour Championship.
Through Usher’s New Look initiative, the singer has spent decades helping young people develop leadership skills and find pathways into higher education.
Now that connection has become personal.
Usher is no longer only an artist who incorporates HBCU culture into his performances or supports it from the outside. He is an HBCU parent.
Another celebrity family chooses an HBCU
Cinco’s arrival at Howard adds another prominent Black family to a growing list of celebrities sending their children to HBCUs.
Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker’s daughter, Sophie, chose Howard. Comedian Chris Spencer’s son, Christopher Jr., also became a Bison. Lil Duval recently celebrated sending his daughter to Tuskegee University.
The appeal extends beyond reputation or tradition. An HBCU can offer the children of high-profile parents something especially valuable: a community where Black achievement is expected, individual identity can flourish, and a famous surname does not have to define the entire college experience.
For Cinco, that experience begins at Howard.
For Usher, the moment represented a transition of his own. He arrived at “The Mecca” as a global superstar, but he left as something new—a proud HBCU dad watching the fifth Usher Raymond begin a legacy that is entirely his own.