Justin Timberlake...male artist of year?

Next week, fans of Justin Timberlake will be tuning in to HBO to watch a special concert performance.

Timberlake has been nominated for the prestigious MTV award for the "Male Artist of the year"...but was also was given the nod in six other MTV musical categories.

Unlike most break-away stars in all-male bands, Timberlake chucked out the bubblegum tunes - and chose instead - to gravitate towards a sly, distinctive, talky beat with obvious roots in a vibrant Afro-American Culture; which was ready, able, and willing to propel him forward in the ranks.

Looks like the gamble has paid off for his handlers.

To some he's an oddity.

White-skinned, but underneath, moving to a rhythmic, black beat.

He's not alone in his musings.

Whenever I'm out in the mean streets of L.A, it baffles me a little when I encounter teenage white boys referring to their "homie" or ranting about some guy in the hood who's been disrespectin' them.

Yeah, Black culture has gloriously surged forward, in myriad manifestations; so "on the cuttin' edge of cool" that anxious, vulnerable teens are inclined to jump on the bandwagon.

You see it in all the trappings: the sloppy, oversize T's; the sulky, loose-fit dungarees hangin' down to expose designer boxers; the dazzlin' eye-poppin' bling. And, in a swagger that's animal in nature.

The handshake that bonds is all deft knuckle-bends and clever finger work, gliding over skin surface.

And, the musical staging for the tribunal is distinctive as ***:

There are a lot of fluid, confident moves, talky moments, and splashy, sensual sexual images.

Yo, what attitude!

The early days of Rock 'n Roll - which generated a lot of hysteria - seem so tame by comparison.

Yes, when Elvis Presley first busted out on the radio, before he performed publicly, everyone thought he was a Black, Gospel singer.

Even still, he faced a couple of obstacles on his meteoric rise to Pop Icon status.

Yes, Little Richard gyrated in what amounted to a wild, tribal ritual on stage.

But the idea of Elvis in that posture was too much for Puritanical, middle-class censors to digest.

The hip-swivellin' was too overt, and the sneer way too denigrating - "a bad influence on the youth of America" - critics argued.

When Presley first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show cameramen were instructed not to shoot below the waist!

Today, just about anythin' goes - innovative musical artists in the limelight now - cross-mix, draw on, and influence each other's musical styling - without boundaries.

As they should.

Music is an International language.