In the upcoming issue of ESSENCE magazine Usher explains how fatherhood changed his life and his goal of being the best father he can be; plus the magazine gives the first official look at his baby boy, Usher Raymond V. Hill Harper interviewed the R&B singer who explained how fatherhood and marriage changed him for the better. After the jump check out the behind the scenes clip taken at the Essence August 2008 photo session in New York's Bedford Corner back in May

USHER: Just simply being there. I don't judge my father because I forgave him for anything he'd ever done to hurt me unintentionally. My father and I had a very short amount of time together throughout my entire life, but the most valuable time was during his final days. He asked me to forgive him for not being there. He asked me to give him a chance, give him a shot because he loved me, and he had always loved me. But it was very difficult for him to be in the situation he was in and be the example he wanted me to follow. So he intentionally stayed away. And he was kept away from me too. He didn't like it, but he didn't fight it because he knew he wasn't living right.

HARPER: What would you say to young men and women about what they should expect from a man who's a father? What is living right as a father? How do you define that?How would that man look?