Don’t look at me like that…74.09% of Soulja Boy’s fanbase was conceived to Luther’s “Here and Now”.

It’s a fact…I Googled it.

Seriously though, I’ll be in the middle of a conversation with one of the homies, and somehow we’ll reach the dreaded “R & B” topic — usually something like this:

Me: “Yeah, R & B is nothing like it used to be.”

Friend: “Word. Back in the day it was much better.”

Me: “Yo, but have you heard that Justin Timberlake joint? It’s actually better than I thought it would be.”

*blank stare*

Now…before I continue, you should know a little about me. I produce Hip Hop and R & B music (I actually started w/ R & B). On top of my daily Hip Hop regimen, I listen to Stevie’s “Songs in the Key of Life” almost religiously (Sir Duke > _____), a little bit of Marvin, D’Angelo, Musiq Soulchild, Lauryn Hill, and…Justin Timberlake.

Sue me.

I consider myself a musician (although mostly by ear), so naturally I gravitate towards different genres. I grew up on Jazz, Funk, and — R & B. Ask your average Hip Hop fan today what their favorite R & B joint is and they’ll most likely look @ you like you just spit 16 bars about their mama. Whats the big deal? Despite what most may tell you, everybody has a favorite song they would NEVER play in front of their friends (except for maybe myself and Rey — we’re that thorough…no homo).

I ain’t talkin’ about Ne-Yo or “The Dream” (or whatever the fuck that Ol’ “ella ella, eh eh” lookin’ ass ninja wants to call himself) either.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with stepping outside of the Hip Hop box for a minute and listening to (or admitting you listen to) another genre. It’s okay, really. Hip Hop is not the end all, be all of music. In fact it’s comprised of a lot of different styles and genres (do your sample homework - “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business” prolly didn’t have to work another day in his life).

Lemme find out one of ya’ll listens to “House”, though.