*Preface - Thanks to all who participated in the insane freestyle battle my last post incited. We should do it again soon. Go check out the commenting section to decide for yourself who won. I'll give you a clue though, it wasn't close, and it was me.

Bumpin' Flow 93.5 on the drive home, Rihanna's new hit song, "Shut Up And Drive", comes on over the radio.

I look over to my right at the soccer mom talking on her cell phone as she attempts to navigate her way through rush hour traffic and smile at the appropriateness of the song to the situation.

Then I realize that I am listening to Flow 93.5, a self-proclaimed urban hit and groove tune station. And when they say urban, they are referring to the musical genres rap, reggae, and R&B (or as I'll bluntly put it because that's the association people will quickly draw, "black music").

Rihanna has a darker shade of skin, so I mean we're all good, no? The virtual world's most accurate encyclopedia has informed me of the fact that she's actually Barbadian, so reggae roots can't be that far off, so again, we're all good, no?

Have a listen for yourself. I'll wait.

*Hands on my hips, impatiently tapping my left foot*

I thought you'd never finish, so I went to get a Popsicle. I hope you don't mind...that I don't mind whether you mind or not.

The first time I heard this song, there was no way I would've pegged Little Miss Sunshine Rihanna to be the one responsible for the semi-catchy song I want to sing/yell at most talking drivers that are incapable of multi-tasking yet still attempt to. It's something I would've instantly labelled Avril Lavigne, or Hilary Duff. But Rihanna?

Actually on second thought, I understand the business, and I understand the dynamics of how an established and loyal fan base. Because Rihanna previously delivered "urban hits" such as S.O.S. and Unfaithful (still one of the dumbest songs ever created, so dumb it incites me to ROFL every time I hear it), she now has leeway on an "urban hits" radio station, and can get away with a pop-rock song here and there. If anything, it was trending that way with the album's first single, Umbrella (yet another rofl-dumb songs).

I get it. Totally.

But then a few songs later, I'm treated to a healthy dose of Maroon 5. MAROON FIVE. The group has no established fans in the hip-hop community, as they've only dabbled in "black music" as guest performers once or twice to my knowledge. And the band's lead singer has possibly the highest, unmistakably whitest, voice this side of the equator. And to top it off, the song only uses three cuss words in total. Take another "urban" artist getting tons of radio play, T.I., his "Big Things Poppin'" contains seven no-no words IN THE CHORUS ALONE! Do the math! It's so parental-discretion-advised-rated that he's had to change the words for the radio mixes! I'm not saying it's right, but that's just the trends. And Maroon 5 is not a part of the trend.

Color me befuddled.

Popular music truly goes in cycles. Pop music seemed primed for a return anyways, and is probably sitting around in a corner waiting for a chance at the limelight. And apparently, the Spice Girls are reuniting for a tour.

Coincidence?

Me thinks not.