When you see the initials M.J., you probably think of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson or Michael Jackson. Is there anyone else who is qualified enough to be considered for this elite group?

How about Montell Jordan?

He has become one of the hottest new R & B artists this year with his hit song, "This Is How We Do It."

Children's Express talked with him this summer about his background and his music.

Jordan was raised in south-central Los Angeles, which he referred to as "a gang city and a drug-infested city."

But he says he's trying through his music to make everybody aware that positive things can come out of his neighborhood. While growing up there could cause children to turn to drugs and crime, Jordan is an example of a kid who made it through.

Jordan, the oldest of four children, was not sheltered from the problems of the area. He got jumped coming home from school and witnessed gang shootings just down the street from his playground. But he didn't join a gang, primarily because he went to church and wanted to go to college.

"Even through adversity, through negative things that were in my neighborhood, I still always wanted to focus on positive things," he said. "I always wanted to overcome."

Jordan did. A graduate of Pepperdine University in California, he received a bachelor's degree in communication.

"It just goes to show that even if you are from a poor family or if you're from a bad neighborhood, you can still achieve and you can still get your goals accomplished in life," he said.

Jordan's family has always been supportive of him. He knows why.

"It's because I've made a lot of positive decisions in my life. I graduated from high school with very high honors. I went to college. I graduated from college and so, basically, I've always done things to make my family look good. I've always done things to make myself look good."

Unlike many rap stars, Jordan doesn't feel he has to be in a gang or do drugs to be cool, and his lyrics reflect that.

"(In) gangsta rap music . . . you hear all the time, `My boy got shot in a drive-by' and `I got to have a gun to be hard' and `I got to do time in county jail to be tough,' stuff like that.

"I don't believe that you need to go to jail to be tough," Jordan said. "I went to college and I believe that made me tough."

He described himself as a religious man and has included Bible verse on his tape cover.

"I was a church musician most of my life," he explained. "My relationship with God has always been very personal."

Jordan says he writes good, positive music. And while there are some people who don't like his lyrics, he says his music is based on his life.

"People will say, `If you're religious and you start with Bible verses, why do you talk about drinking beer?' Because I'm not a perfect man. When I hang out with my friends, sometimes I'll drink a beer. That's not a positive thing, but I don't want to be a hypocrite."

Some parents think Jordan's music will have a bad influence on kids, and they forbid their kids from listening to it. Jordan agrees with the parents' decisions.

"I think that there are some things on my album that parents shouldn't allow their kids to listen to. My music is for all people; it's not just for kids," he said.

He knows there are songs on his album that are inappropriate for kids.

"This is my first album and I tried to make something on this album for everybody. . . . When a pie is made, you don't necessarily have to eat all of that pie. You slice it up and you take a piece and you let everybody else get some, too. That is what I tried to do on this album."

Why has Jordan's album skyrocketed to the top of the charts?

"I make (my music) easy to relate to. "This Is How We Do It" just doesn't relate to a kid; it can relate to a 70-year-old man because everybody has their own way of doing things," he said. "My music is to make people happy."

Jordan also thinks he is easy to relate to.

"The fact that I'm very tall is another thing that's good for me being able to relate to kids. (Kids want) to relate to something that's really big," he said. Jordan is 6 feet 8 inches tall.

Jordan has a special message for one group of kids.

"The only thing I'm trying to do is to show a different side for kids to see that just because you grow up in a bad neighborhood or just because you grow up and don't have everything, you don't have to fall into this (gang) lifestyle."

He knows what he's talking about.

"It helps me a whole lot to be able to say that I came from basically nothing to become someone in the music industry," Jordan said.