Justin Bieber has claimed that he has been embraced by the hip-hop community because he is not a "corny" Disney star like his contemporaries.
Bieber, who is mentored by R&B superstar Usher, said that he was glad of the support he receives from more experienced artists in his field.
"I like hop-hop a lot. I'm really glad they've taken a liking to me," he told MTV.
"Having [Ludacris] and having Lil Wayne give me shout me out on UStream, you know - it's cool.
"I think it's because I didn't go through the Disney route. I didn't go corny, but, like, at the same time I've been cool and collected."
However the 16-year-old admits that he is inspired by former Disney star and ex-Mouseketeer Justin Timberlake.
He added: "Well, basically I look at people like Usher and Justin Timberlake and how they went from being a child star to blowing up and doing what they're doing now.
"I look up and see what they do and see that's what I want to do... and things that I want to do that's different and things that I wanna do that's working for them."
"Hop-hop"? I hope that's a typo, for his sake
And he needs to stop saying "shawty" in his songs. Does he say shawty anywhere on his new record? I hope not.
Even worse. At least when you're a Disney face, it's given, to some extent, that it's understandable to act, to feel and to be treated corny. BUT JB is not a Disney star. He's just corny.
This dude is starting to get arrogant, and this success is getting to his head
He expects everyone to like him. The only reason why rappers wanna get on his tracks is because hes young and they can get on his track for the money... they really don't care
