by Roger Grant

Created on: May 25, 2009

I always refer to this artist as Justin Timberfake in sporty jest of course, but maybe there is some ring of truth to my soft ridicule of the former boy band stand out.

I don't know who suggested this topic and how serious this went under consideration but I consider this rather presumptuous on the part of whosoever came up with this frivolous idea. But seriously, the reigning King Of Pop should not have to suffer the humiliation of this ludicrous notion that somehow Mr. Timberlake is being mentioned in the same breath.

I think that there are other white artist doing predominantly black sounding records who are more worthy contenders than Justin. There is one who has a bigger personal profile and has sold more records than him and has a bigger social impact and will want to be emulated much more than him and that artist is Eminem.

Firstly, Justin Timberlake sold more records as a member of NSync than as a solo artist. In the wake of Aliyah's death Timberland was probably searching for another hit performer or the next big thing. "Cry Me A River" the first solo hit record for Justin could have just as well been Aliyah's next single. Justin rode these beats to other chart success with songs such as "Sexy Back" and the other singles off that album. The point I'm trying to make is that the template was already set so Justin came out with good hip-hop tracks but was not breaking any new ground or setting any creative benchmarks.

Justin Timberlake is a white artist with his feet firmly planted in the black music fraternity and has not yet made a record that will define him and make him a leader amongst artist. In the R & B and Rap genre at present, the one who is pushing the envelope at present is Kanye West. West's ambition is only matched by his ego and has a very unorthodox approach as a rapper and a keen sense of what it is to be a pop star. Justin's peak in popularity as a solo artist was only at the time he was dating Britny Spears .

In all fairness to Justin, I don't think he is this forward to suggest that he is the King of anything and I think he is really talented and knows how to get hit records and to be consistent. But any artist aspiring to the Pop Throne must make the record that will be able to pull the record business out of decline and get people to start buying albums again. That is what Michael did with Thriller back in 1983. That artist has to transcend genres and convert millions of fans who otherwise would not pay attention to anyone outside of their cultural zones such as Bob Marley (The KIng Of Reggae) or break a new musical art form like Ozzy's Black Sabbath with heavy metal.

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