♪ TWENTY QUESTIONS TO THE BEAT… (PART 2) ♪

(Or Earth Shattering R & B/Neo-Soul/Hip-Hop Music Queries)

1. Even with a style that is unusual and hard to categorize, is Nikki Minaj not larger than life? Can Nik eclipse Madonna’s career?

2. Who found Willow Smith annoying at first, yet now can’t help but “whip their hair” every time the radio plays her song for the 1000th time that day?

3. Aren’t we glad Ne-Yo, Dondria, Maxwell, Sade and Jill Scott have stayed away from Auto Tunes? Aren’t we disappointed that Usher, Mary J. Blige, Jamie Foxx, Chris Brown and other truly naturally talented artists have started using Auto Tunes?

4. How many women still dig Alicia Keys’ music, but won’t ever let her near their man/boyfriend/spouse?

5. Doesn’t it stink that Dead Prez is too controversial and profane for the radio?

6. Is Robin Thicke the new official “baby making music” artist?

7. How many of us knew Whitney was done for good when she told Diane Sawyer, “Crack is wack?”

8. Aren’t we digging the musicianship of Bobby Ray (a.k.a. B.O.B.) and don’t we “wish right now” that he would get more radio play?

9. Isn’t Lupe’s battle with Atlantic records, reminiscent of Prince and his showdown with Warner Bros., which is textbook, “fight the power!”?

10. By a show of hands, how many of us no matter where we are, “put our hands up,” when we hear “All I Do Is Win”?

11. Aren’t we digging Janelle Monáe, but dying to know how in the hell she gets her hair to stay in place while performing those wicked dance moves?

12. Don’t we miss when music videos sorta had a plot? Do we ever think there will be a day when booty-shaking, breast-popping, and straight-up denigrating videos will be passé, outlawed and simply fade away?

13. By a show of hands, how many of us knew that Jermaine Dupri was out of his league with Janet Jackson?

14. Should Lauryn Hill join Whitney on the “never will be, again” bench?

15. Wouldn’t you want the Roots to play the funkiest concert at your funeral if you could afford them?

16. John Legend: straight, homosexual or bi-sexual (come on, y’all KNOW you been wanting to ask this one!)?

17. Has Beyoncé truly paid dues and earned the right to be mentioned in the same breath as Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Teena Marie, Tina Turner and Diana Ross?

18. Biggie or Tupac?

19. Still in shock, mourning, or denial over Michael Jackson?

20. Isn’t Sean Combs gift to his son Justin on his 16th birthday (a $360,000 Maybach with a chauffeur) a smack in the face to those of us who actually work for a living?

Bonus: remember when an artist would do a complete project by themselves instead of having one, two, three or even four additionally artists on almost every single track?