Usher rehires mom as manager

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Usher's publicist said the U.S. recording artist has rehired his mother as his manager.

"Usher has dissolved his management arrangement with Benny Medina and has re-engaged Jonnetta Patton as his manager," Usher's representative said in a statement issued to Usmagazine.com Wednesday.

The singer, who became a first-time father last November, has denied rumors he fired his mother and manager of 15 years in 2007 because she didn't get along with his wife.

"I decided to not fire, not get rid of, but to give (my mother) the ultimate compliment -- to retire her to be a full-time grandmother. My mother and I decided to change her situation, together," Usher was quoted as saying in the July issue of Vibe magazine. "There was a conversation. I didn't write her a letter or pink slip her."