BlaqueKnight said:

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

Chris Brown dosen't make good enough albums to be closer to MJ imo. Matter of fact he dosen't

even make albums, he only makes singles.Who's really checking for songs he did other than his singles.

But with an artist like Justin some of his best work ain't even gona end up on the radio which is something I admire about him. The only area where CB got JT beat is dancing really.

I agree with what this guy says starting @ 5:22. when he talks about Timberlake being closer to MJ than CB

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5swzcqfuho[/youtube]

As for Timb, It's actually Justin who saved him and made him relevant again. Tim's career was considered over until that new JT album dropped. Tim and Pharrell deserve some credit for his success but at the end

of the day it took the right kind of talent to elevate the songs and it ain't like

he wasn't bound to become a big star before he even worked with them. MJ himself wanted to collaborate with Justin at the time he was with N Sync..

[Edited 5/18/14 16:53pm]

You couldn't have picked a bigger idiot to agree with. I almost never agree with anything Charlamange says. He's not very bright.
In this instance, I will concede to the point he made about Chris B's window to becoming the next MJ being closed. I don't think its closed; I think its almost closed. He's right about the public not wanting him to be and therefore the industry won't allow him to be. The industry WON'T allow him to be. I think that Charlamange falls for the industry oakey doke just like the general public does and that's why his take on Justin is what it is. The current record industry is a singles industry, which is why CB's output is the way that it is. He is younger than JT and his career is structured to fit the modern mold of the music business. While CB doesn't have any "classic" albums per se, JT has never come close to something like Fine China. He couldn't pull it off on his best day. Justin couldn't do Wall To Wall (singing and choreography simultaneously). Its not within his capability. "No Air" is slightly above Justin's singing ability and Justin flat out couldn't do classic R&B like "This Christmas" as well as CB could. When Chris focuses, he's miles above Justin in pure ability.
I don't think we've even seen Chris at 100%. I've seen JT at 100% and its not impressive. Justin just gets by. His dancing is weak and so is his voice. HIs live shows are tracked to hell. Charlamange doesn't know jack about the machine that makes what he sees. Like the rest of the public, he is impressed by the wizard because he knows nothing about what is going on behind the curtain. That's the entertainment business. You're not supposed to know what's going on behind the curtain. However, when you do, you know who's real and who's not. Justin ain't. He gets white guy pointsfor doing R&B from many (even though the reverse has never been given). I call him like I see him. For years and years I have been calling JT mediocre. He has not proven me wrong. When he does, I'll be the first to admit it.

Justin's material is generally better because his producers are better but his voice and dancing are sub par, not only to Chris but to others as well.

[Edited 5/18/14 19:08pm]

I don't know a whole lot about Charlemagne but he did make some good points. How can anyone with not one memorable album be the next MJ?

So when JT started out it wasn't already a singles driven industry?

It's been that way for a long time but JT unlike most pop artists has shown interest in putting together better albums.

JT first album got some of the best MJ songs MJ never made .Some are more memorable than that one imo

CB looks too often like he's on speed to be able to focus

I personally don't even think CB sings well. His singing sounds forced most of the time

[Edited 5/21/14 15:29pm]

babynoz said:

BlaqueKnight said:

I know for a fact that this happens a lot. I know of artists that have been signed just so that the label could shelve them because they were a threat to another artist already signed.

Y'know, the more I hear, the more I think that there are few businesses dirtier than the music business.

Yeah I've heard that for years and I haven't spent one second in the industry. There was a news report today about one of these "employees" of Jay Z's sports management organization that was a convicted drug dealer. He basically doesn't have her as an official employee but apparently she's the ballbreaker and dealmaker type. She supposedly did undercover work with the feds to get a shorter sentence. She's smuggled several dozen kilos of cocaine and only got nine months....this is someone that is working for JayZ....we all know how the drug trafficking business is always lurking in the background of the music business...

I think this is why Beyone is popular, she has no competition. Think about it. There are no other artists who try to enter the same spaces, so to speak. She is seriously overrated and has ripped off JLO a lot.....she's a hack

I think Justin Bieber and Justin Timberlake for some reason are trying too hard to rub elbows with blacks when it suits them.

[Edited 5/18/14 20:32pm]

.

[Edited 5/18/14 21:46pm]

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

I don't know a whole lot about Charlemagne but he did make some good points. How can anyone with not one memorable album be the next MJ?

So when JT started out it wasn't already a singles driven industry?

It's been that way for a long time but JT unlike most pop artists has shown interest in putting together better albums.

JT first album got some of the best MJ songs MJ never made .Some are more memorable than that one imo

he looks too often like he's on speed to be able to focus

I personally don't even think CB sings well. His singing sounds forced most of the time

[Edited 5/19/14 0:21am]

No, it wasn't a singles-driven industry when Justin started.
Albums don't mean a damn thing these days. Having a classic album is nice but not important. Who buys albums? Just us old folks and a few twenty-somethings and teens who think they are missing out on the experience. Most people are just trying to write the "soundtrack to their lives" with songs for their mp3 players and car radios.

As for Chris not being able to sing well, there are lots of youtube videos I could post to make my case but rather than do all of that, we can just agree to disagree.

BlaqueKnight said:

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

I don't know a whole lot about Charlemagne but he did make some good points. How can anyone with not one memorable album be the next MJ?

So when JT started out it wasn't already a singles driven industry?

It's been that way for a long time but JT unlike most pop artists has shown interest in putting together better albums.

JT first album got some of the best MJ songs MJ never made .Some are more memorable than that one imo

he looks too often like he's on speed to be able to focus

I personally don't even think CB sings well. His singing sounds forced most of the time

[Edited 5/19/14 0:21am]

No, it wasn't a singles-driven industry when Justin started.
Albums don't mean a damn thing these days. Having a classic album is nice but not important. Who buys albums? Just us old folks and a few twenty-somethings and teens who think they are missing out on the experience. Most people are just trying to write the "soundtrack to their lives" with songs for their mp3 players and car radios.

As for Chris not being able to sing well, there are lots of youtube videos I could post to make my case but rather than do all of that, we can just agree to disagree.

but why can't Chris Brown decide to make great albums ? If he really cared about his craft

and wanted to follow the foosteps of MJ he couldn't make that decision?

artists like Drake and JT nowadays can still sell a lot of records cause their fans know their albums aren't full of throwaway songs so they want to own those albums.

[Edited 5/19/14 2:29am]

BlaqueKnight said:

Justin is a midget sitting on the shoulders of a giant.

Its not that he has no talent at all. You have to have some talent to make it to the point that he has and stay there. Justin has at his disposal any and all resources that any pop star could have. He has the best producers in the industry behind him. He has many image consultants behind him. He himself is pretty slick. He knows what not to say. Whenever someone gets serious on him, he cleverly quips his way out with a one-liner. No one ever asks him anything serious and his handlers make sure of it.

He really is nothing special in the greater scheme of performers. Every city has a "white dude that digs and does R&B" in it. He's the guy in that cover band that prefers to sing R&B songs but doesn't sound like an R&B singer. Take someone like Mayer Hawthorne - he sounds like an R&B singer. Jon B. sounds like an R&B singer. JT sounds like a cover band singer, and not that great of one, either. Look at his band. Who couldn't sound good with that crew behind them?

He is the opposite of Chris Brown, in a sense. Chris is a dynamic performer. In fact, he is the only pop star recently that has shown potential for taking that "king of pop" slot that Sony is so desperately trying to fill. There are a lot of talented people in the world but not a lot of them get to the level where they can bring it to the world. I firm;y believe that Sony wants the next "king of pop" to be a white guy.

[Edited 5/18/14 10:31am]

Personally I don't think Timbaland has had anything worth remembering in years until he did the last album with Justin. Clearly Justin must have had something to do with the directions Timbaland took in his production.

People don't automatically sound good with good music backing them up. If that would be right, then every song that was produced by big time producers would become hits. Pharrel and Timbaland has produced bunch of music that didn't make it for artists that didn't know how to approach the music, even when they got help from the producers themselves with lyrics and melody for the hook. I love Clipse, and even though I listen to them more than lets say Jay Z, I'd never question why he is bigger than them. They don't have the charisma and great pop tracks he does.

Mayer Hawthorn might be good at his monotone all songs sound the same kind of singing, and is having a more retro style. Retro however is not automatically good. JT is more versatile from what I've heard, even though his range is almost laughable. Only reason Mayer sounds a bit original today, is because his style of singing is not modern today. And the music is also extremly DATED.

Chris Brown is totally forgettable except for the fact that I remember he hits women and has a little brother named Justin Bieber. Justin Bieber who is maybe the most hated on artist today has alot better songs than Chris Brown, even though he still is an immature little kid in a "grown" body. But still has star quality by miles. Chris brown would burn both on the dance floor. And I don't even like Justin Bieber that much. I just admit that he does have some star quality and skills. And if he doesn't die in a car crash, he'll probably give the people something good every now and then.

I admit that Justins Timberlakes voice is not all that. It's thin, and he has a narrow range, but is creative. With a bunch of heavy compressors, creative studio work, cool melodies and beats... it all sums up to sounding pretty damn good to me. I'm one of those who don't really give a shit how music is made, as long as it speaks to me. For entertaining purpose while walking down the street I find his music fun and. I don't do soul searching with his music on vinyl in my living room though. Does it have to? His music is still better than his competitors in the pop scene. Nothing to do with his whiteness. He is just better and more creative.

IMO

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

BlaqueKnight said:

No, it wasn't a singles-driven industry when Justin started.
Albums don't mean a damn thing these days. Having a classic album is nice but not important. Who buys albums? Just us old folks and a few twenty-somethings and teens who think they are missing out on the experience. Most people are just trying to write the "soundtrack to their lives" with songs for their mp3 players and car radios.

As for Chris not being able to sing well, there are lots of youtube videos I could post to make my case but rather than do all of that, we can just agree to disagree.

but why can't Chris Brown decide to make great albums ? If he really cared about his craft

and wanted to follow the foosteps of MJ he couldn't make that decision?

artists like Drake and JT nowadays can still sell a lot of records cause their fans know their albums aren't full of throwaway songs so they want to own those albums.

[Edited 5/19/14 2:29am]

This!

SeventeenDayze said:

... it seems that Justin Timberlake always wants a "black sound" that seems contrived.

This is joke, right? Michael Jackson didn't sound black to me. He didn't look it, either. This black and white shit is as tired as the stupid, shitty MJ song Black and White.

The music a person enjoys and/or creates come from their culture, not their race.

Modern white music would not exist without modern black music, but the opposite is also true. I don't segregate music. You can believe what you want to do, but a large part of what MJ and Prince became famous doing was combining "black" music and "white" music.

Trying to get people to admit JT wants to "sound black", (as opposed to what he's REALLY doing which is trying to sound like what all the low-brow radio idiots are like strictly to make money) is just as ignorant as trying to force people to accept that Michael Jackson apparently wanted to be a rich, white woman who wrote sappy, self-help bumper sticker philosophy-level ballads for Disney soundtracks. Man In The Mirror? Blech.

Replica said:

Personally I don't think Timbaland has had anything worth remembering in years until he did the last album with Justin. Clearly Justin must have had something to do with the directions Timbaland took in his production.

Wha?

We're done here.

Peace out.

I love JT to death, but he didn't need to put himself in the recent MJ song. I love Justin, but I stan for Michael more lol.

BlaqueKnight said:

Replica said:

Personally I don't think Timbaland has had anything worth remembering in years until he did the last album with Justin. Clearly Justin must have had something to do with the directions Timbaland took in his production.

Wha?

We're done here.

Peace out.

it's actually true

since 2009 the year when he releaseed the dreadful Chris Cornel album and Shock Value 2 which was hated on, he was on a cold streak and nothing he was putting out was really hot. It wasn't until 20/20 dropped that people praised his recent material again and started to believe he still has it. Many were surprised by that album because they thought Timb had lost it.

[Edited 5/21/14 15:39pm]

BlaqueKnight said:

Replica said:

Personally I don't think Timbaland has had anything worth remembering in years until he did the last album with Justin. Clearly Justin must have had something to do with the directions Timbaland took in his production.

Wha?

We're done here.

Peace out.

That was hilarious, wasn't it? LOL

How much did JT's camp pay the NY Daily News to call JT the like successor as the King of Pop? Totally ridiculous. I am positive that if the tables were turned, they'd never call a black artist the predecessor of whatever title. I've never seen that happen before, it's always one-sided.

Marrk said:

Of course I agree. Why do people feel the need to put one artist down to raise another? It totally pisses me off. I love Bowie too (mainly for his seventies stuff) If i didn't, i still wouldn't go on a Bowie thread spouting off about Michael Jackson.

I don't understand either.

I understand the resentment felt by those who believe JT is coopting black music for crossover success. That's a debate at least as old as Benny Goodman.

But I don't get why Bowie came up at all.

I also noticed he's been balantly ripping off Bruno ever since the 20/20 era began, since when JT and all his band shared the same costume, since when he was this all-band front man and since when he shared his TV appearances with his band (Like him last night winning Top Artist)... I'm not saying Bruno invented that but we all know he brought THAT style back from the 50's to the 70's... (The temptations // jackson 5 doo-wop groups style)...

SeventeenDayze said:

duccichucka said:

This is ridiculous. Why are you begrudging a 21st century recording artist, who grew up in the

South listening to Black American music, for being inspired and influenced by Michael Jackson,

who is the biggest pop star since Elvis died? It's not like we see MJ's influence on Timberlake

and Timberlake denies it - he openly admits that MJ was and is a heavy inspiration!

So he imagines himself as being steeped and entrenched in a Black American art form? That makes

him a "wanna be?" It is a testament to the cultural power of Black America! Y'all need to relax with

the JT hate - it's silly, and we all know that there was one and will only be one Michael Jackson.

But even if Justin Timberlake was trying to fill Michael Jackson's shoes, well wish that mutherfucker

good luck, cos those are big shoes to fill. But to say his sound is contrived, when he grew up

surrounded by Black American music, is just pure hate and without perspective (as pure hate is

want to do).

It's my opinion thanks

It's a ridiculous opinion, and you're welcome.

SeventeenDayze said:

BlaqueKnight said:

Wha?

We're done here.

Peace out.

That was hilarious, wasn't it? LOL

what's hilarious about an accurate comment?

Shawy89 said:

I also noticed he's been balantly ripping off Bruno ever since the 20/20 era began, since when JT and all his band shared the same costume, since when he was this all-band front man and since when he shared his TV appearances with his band (Like him last night winning Top Artist)... I'm not saying Bruno invented that but we all know he brought THAT style back from the 50's to the 70's... (The temptations // jackson 5 doo-wop groups style)...

Yeah, maybe JT was copying Bruno Mars because it didn't take 15 years for Bruno to "make it" on his own. I think Bruno is leaps and bounds ahead of JT.

Even some journalists only minimally acknowledge JT's appropriation of black music. It's obvious that the write of this article isn't black.

http://colorlines.com/archives/2013/03/the_trouble_with_justin_timberlakes_appropriation_of_black_music.html

Be sure to check out the comments too. The first comment in that article, the reader is saying that unlike other white artists, JT has no interest whatsoever in the black community but has no problem making attempts to insert himself in the R&B world.

[Edited 5/19/14 16:26pm]

The fact that MJ wanted to collaborate with JT while he was still with N'Sync does not "validate" JT in my opinion. What it DOES is highlight the fact (a rarely discussed one) is that MJ was a bandwgoner of sorts later in his career. He was ALWAYS intentional about "dueting" with the biggest stars (Jagger/Mercury, McCartney, Stevie, Madogma, Jordan, he wanted Prince, etc.) but later on he saw the value of certain artists, even if he was a bit late, such as Akon, 50, Biggie, Gaga (whose star he foresaw rising), etc. So its no surprise he saw (like everyone did) who the "breakout star" of N'Sync would be.

Justin HAD his chance to leverage his white privilege and secure a permanent pass from the Black community with Janet's Nipplegate by going to bat for her. He passed and therefore is just the latest in a long line of black "culture vultures" no matter how hard he TRIES to be "down". When it COSTS you something is the real test and he failed miserably

datdude said:

The fact that MJ wanted to collaborate with JT while he was still with N'Sync does not "validate" JT in my opinion. What it DOES is highlight the fact (a rarely discussed one) is that MJ was a bandwgoner of sorts later in his career. He was ALWAYS intentional about "dueting" with the biggest stars (Jagger/Mercury, McCartney, Stevie, Madogma, Jordan, he wanted Prince, etc.) but later on he saw the value of certain artists, even if he was a bit late, such as Akon, 50, Biggie, Gaga (whose star he foresaw rising), etc. So its no surprise he saw (like everyone did) who the "breakout star" of N'Sync would be.

Justin HAD his chance to leverage his white privilege and secure a permanent pass from the Black community with Janet's Nipplegate by going to bat for her. He passed and therefore is just the latest in a long line of black "culture vultures" no matter how hard he TRIES to be "down". When it COSTS you something is the real test and he failed miserably

Culture Vultures, sounds catchy

ForgottenPassword said:

Marrk said:

Well i've no comment on JT. Besides, sure some self-promotion is no doubt taking place but really, so what? that's the business now. It's still cool he's given his time and stands up for MJ, same for Usher on that i Heart Radio performance.

I heard Timberlake mock MJ on TV around the time of the court trial. Depending on who he's talking with, he'll either support or mock MJ. The man is a jellyfish.

Yup you hit the nail on the head.

The dude is so shady I can’t understand how people can’t see through him.

If he’s the BRIT awards – Coldplay are his favourite artists and if he’s at the BET awards Donnie Hathaway is his biggest inspiration – a massive opportunist!

It’s so disrespectful for LA Reid to allow the little twerp to collaborate with MJ (In the cheesiest video of the year) after what he did to his sister. The duet did not happen when MJ was alive for a reason.

datdude said:

The fact that MJ wanted to collaborate with JT while he was still with N'Sync does not "validate" JT in my opinion. What it DOES is highlight the fact (a rarely discussed one) is that MJ was a bandwgoner of sorts later in his career. He was ALWAYS intentional about "dueting" with the biggest stars (Jagger/Mercury, McCartney, Stevie, Madogma, Jordan, he wanted Prince, etc.) but later on he saw the value of certain artists, even if he was a bit late, such as Akon, 50, Biggie, Gaga (whose star he foresaw rising), etc. So its no surprise he saw (like everyone did) who the "breakout star" of N'Sync would be.

-MJ's duets with Mick Jagger and Mercury were during Thrillermania when he was a bigger star than both combined; hardly late in his career. And I don't know about Mercury but from what I heard, Jagger wanted to duet with Michael himself.

-I'm sure Paul offered his talents to Michael and was more than happy to do so; once again, nowhere near late in his career.

-Stevie? Same as the above 2.

-Never heard of him wanting to collab with Madonna but I know they were friends so that definitely could've been a possibility though I wouldn't call that bandwagoning in the slightest seeing as how he was still above her popularity-wise.

-Michael Jordan? Does that even count? And even so, that was awesome; two of the biggest, most influential, revered, and decorated black celebrities at the time in completely different lines of work in the entertainent industry who shared the same initials. Those 2 HAD to be put together in some capacity.

-I can agree with Prince but the way I see it, it was more so a way to make Bad as bad as it was intended to be. Besides, like Madonna, Prince was still below MJ even when he was white hot back in the 80s/ not the late part of MJ's career.

You could possibly argue that MJ bandwagoned with the hottest producers but even then I would say that's a stretch, especially if you want to use Quincy as an example of that. The closest he came to bandwagoning a producer was with Ted Riley for Dangerous and while New Jack Swing was the hot genre at the time, though it was cooling by 1991, MJ was just adventurous and willing to experiment with new sounds and genres.

[Edited 5/20/14 7:55am]

mancabdriver said:

ForgottenPassword said:

I heard Timberlake mock MJ on TV around the time of the court trial. Depending on who he's talking with, he'll either support or mock MJ. The man is a jellyfish.

Yup you hit the nail on the head.

The dude is so shady I can’t understand how people can’t see through him.

If he’s the BRIT awards – Coldplay are his favourite artists and if he’s at the BET awards Donnie Hathaway is his biggest inspiration – a massive opportunist!

It’s so disrespectful for LA Reid to allow the little twerp to collaborate with MJ (In the cheesiest video of the year) after what he did to his sister. The duet did not happen when MJ was alive for a reason.

-

Did Justin come out publically and support Michael during his trial? I don't ever recall him or many others for that matter. I guess everyone feel it's safe now to "show love for Michael Jackson." Once he died and his stock shot back up, everybody and their grandmother can't sing his praises enough.

steakfinger said:

This is joke, right? Michael Jackson didn't sound black to me. He didn't look it, either. This black and white shit is as tired as the stupid, shitty MJ song Black and White.

The music a person enjoys and/or creates come from their culture, not their race.

Modern white music would not exist without modern black music, but the opposite is also true. I don't segregate music. You can believe what you want to do, but a large part of what MJ and Prince became famous doing was combining "black" music and "white" music.

Trying to get people to admit JT wants to "sound black", (as opposed to what he's REALLY doing which is trying to sound like what all the low-brow radio idiots are like strictly to make money) is just as ignorant as trying to force people to accept that Michael Jackson apparently wanted to be a rich, white woman who wrote sappy, self-help bumper sticker philosophy-level ballads for Disney soundtracks. Man In The Mirror? Blech.

.

He did not write 'Man in the Mirror', though. That was Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard.

.

Musicslave said:

mancabdriver said:

Yup you hit the nail on the head.

The dude is so shady I can’t understand how people can’t see through him.

If he’s the BRIT awards – Coldplay are his favourite artists and if he’s at the BET awards Donnie Hathaway is his biggest inspiration – a massive opportunist!

It’s so disrespectful for LA Reid to allow the little twerp to collaborate with MJ (In the cheesiest video of the year) after what he did to his sister. The duet did not happen when MJ was alive for a reason.

-

Did Justin come out publically and support Michael during his trial? I don't ever recall him or many others for that matter. I guess everyone feel it's safe now to "show love for Michael Jackson." Once he died and his stock shot back up, everybody and their grandmother can't sing his praises enough.

It doesn't surprise me that Timberlake mocked MJ during those trials. Now, he wants to position himself as the next MJ. He's delusional. I don't know who his camp bribed in order to make sure that he won the most Billboard awards the other day. Unlike other blue-eyed soul artists, JT makes ZERO inroads with the black community on any level. He steals his "swagger" from blacks and then closes up shop until the next live performance. Did he ever speak out against the Trayvon Martin tragedy? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.....

datdude said:

The fact that MJ wanted to collaborate with JT while he was still with N'Sync does not "validate" JT in my opinion. What it DOES is highlight the fact (a rarely discussed one) is that MJ was a bandwgoner of sorts later in his career. He was ALWAYS intentional about "dueting" with the biggest stars (Jagger/Mercury, McCartney, Stevie, Madogma, Jordan, he wanted Prince, etc.) but later on he saw the value of certain artists, even if he was a bit late, such as Akon, 50, Biggie, Gaga (whose star he foresaw rising), etc. So its no surprise he saw (like everyone did) who the "breakout star" of N'Sync would be.

Justin HAD his chance to leverage his white privilege and secure a permanent pass from the Black community with Janet's Nipplegate by going to bat for her. He passed and therefore is just the latest in a long line of black "culture vultures" no matter how hard he TRIES to be "down". When it COSTS you something is the real test and he failed miserably

I love ya, datdude, but this is the shit of a horse.

Now listen, I'm quick to call out white artists who usurp Black American art forms, get acclaimed

for their musical legacies, make gabillions of dollars, and are heralded as innovators, while their

Black American counter-parts and influences toil in obscurity and die broke. But one can argue

that Justin Timberlake's cultural influences are mostly Southern, which means he probably grew

up listening to Black American art forms. This then means that he is authentically influenced by

Black American art forms, gives credit to the Black Americans who have influenced him, and

does not pose as if he is the purveyor of something "new" that racist Americans won't listen from

a Black recording artist, but will listen if a version of that Black American music is coming from a

White American.

The hate that Timberlake is receiving in this thread is again, some kind of twisted, inverted racism

that believes that White American musicians cannot be heavily influenced by Black American art

forms without being accused of stealing. This is horseshit and unfair to White American recording

artists who are truly enamored with Black American culture. Using your hate-logic against you,

it invalidates the careers of Black Americans who are classical musicians and composers because

classical music is a "white thang." If there is a cute, Southern Black boy who grows up listening

to Black American music, can sing and dance, and has a "look," he is afforded the same

opportunity today, that was afforded to Justin Timberlake - how do you think Michael Jackson got

started?!?! As for Timberlake avoiding the blowback from Nipplegate, who gives a fuck? He tried

to dodge a career hit; that doesn't have anything to do with the color of his skin.

What is happening here in this thread is that y'all are up in arms because how dare a White boy

accept the mantle of being the King of Pop when there are other similarly talented Black American

artists on the scene. The fact of the matter is that Justin Timberlake is the only R&B influenced

mega-pop singer who is putting out classic albums a la Michael Jackson. Sorry - but get over it.

If your panties are in a bunch, tell Usher to cut the EDM crap and step his game up. No. I think

Justin Timberlake is purposefully shooting for a catalog that is analogous to MJ's and y'all are

hating him for his aspiration. You should be mad at Usher for the lack of aspiring to MJ's legacy or

being too awestruck by it.

Tsk, tsk.

I agree with Duccichucka, but then, even if JT's last album was a nice R&B throwback, he lacks something, it's like someone who doesn't play guitar good enough wants to join be Led Zeppelin's guitarist, he doesn't have that, he tries hard, but he doesn't. I'm sorry for y'all, JT fans, I like that he tries, but he should know his image. He's an RnB act, but he ain't no R&B artist.

duccichucka said:

datdude said:

The fact that MJ wanted to collaborate with JT while he was still with N'Sync does not "validate" JT in my opinion. What it DOES is highlight the fact (a rarely discussed one) is that MJ was a bandwgoner of sorts later in his career. He was ALWAYS intentional about "dueting" with the biggest stars (Jagger/Mercury, McCartney, Stevie, Madogma, Jordan, he wanted Prince, etc.) but later on he saw the value of certain artists, even if he was a bit late, such as Akon, 50, Biggie, Gaga (whose star he foresaw rising), etc. So its no surprise he saw (like everyone did) who the "breakout star" of N'Sync would be.

Justin HAD his chance to leverage his white privilege and secure a permanent pass from the Black community with Janet's Nipplegate by going to bat for her. He passed and therefore is just the latest in a long line of black "culture vultures" no matter how hard he TRIES to be "down". When it COSTS you something is the real test and he failed miserably

I love ya, datdude, but this is the shit of a horse.

Now listen, I'm quick to call out white artists who usurp Black American art forms, get acclaimed

for their musical legacies, make gabillions of dollars, and are heralded as innovators, while their

Black American counter-parts and influences toil in obscurity and die broke. But one can argue

that Justin Timberlake's cultural influences are mostly Southern, which means he probably grew

up listening to Black American art forms. This then means that he is authentically influenced by

Black American art forms, gives credit to the Black Americans who have influenced him, and

does not pose as if he is the purveyor of something "new" that racist Americans won't listen from

a Black recording artist, but will listen if a version of that Black American music is coming from a

White American.

The hate that Timberlake is receiving in this thread is again, some kind of twisted, inverted racism

that believes that White American musicians cannot be heavily influenced by Black American art

forms without being accused of stealing. This is horseshit and unfair to White American recording

artists who are truly enamored with Black American culture. Using your hate-logic against you,

it invalidates the careers of Black Americans who are classical musicians and composers because

classical music is a "white thang." If there is a cute, Southern Black boy who grows up listening

to Black American music, can sing and dance, and has a "look," he is afforded the same

opportunity today, that was afforded to Justin Timberlake - how do you think Michael Jackson got

started?!?! As for Timberlake avoiding the blowback from Nipplegate, who gives a fuck? He tried

to dodge a career hit; that doesn't have anything to do with the color of his skin.

What is happening here in this thread is that y'all are up in arms because how dare a White boy

accept the mantle of being the King of Pop when there are other similarly talented Black American

artists on the scene. The fact of the matter is that Justin Timberlake is the only R&B influenced

mega-pop singer who is putting out classic albums a la Michael Jackson. Sorry - but get over it.

If your panties are in a bunch, tell Usher to cut the EDM crap and step his game up. No. I think

Justin Timberlake is purposefully shooting for a catalog that is analogous to MJ's and y'all are

hating him for his aspiration. You should be mad at Usher for the lack of aspiring to MJ's legacy or

being too awestruck by it.

Tsk, tsk.

I see you skipped right over the discussion that was brough up about Michael McDonald and Teena Marie being authentic. Face it, JT appropriates black music then quickly exits out of "blackville" until he returns again to record an album. Face it, it's a colonial mentality. Show up some place that was never yours then justifying/denying the fact that you stole it from someone else and pretend that it was yours all along. Colonialism 101.....

[Edited 5/20/14 16:19pm]