Tank Ranks Boyz II Men, Brian McKnight Christmas Songs Over Mariah Carey's

Tank is giving Mariah Carey her flowers for "All I Want for Christmas Is You" being an everlasting gift ... but thinks her composition has to take a backseat to the Cooleyhigh classics!!!

TMZ Hip Hop recently caught up with Tank at LAX, and he tackled the future of R&B -- namely, Usher and L.A. Reid's latest protege ... a budding vocalist named JayDon.

The singing upstart has gotten cosigns from the likes of Chris Brown, Vedo and now Tank, who acknowledges the R&B torch has to be passed at some point, but giving JayDon the flame is a great bet.

The 18-year-old crooner -- who was in 2019's live-action remake of "The Lion King" as the voice of young Simba -- also has a sturdy label backing ... having signed to Larry Jackson's billion-dollar gamma imprint.

Getting back to the holiday spirit, Tank says Mariah's yearly jam deserves its own museum, but gives the Christmas wreath to the cheer found on Boyz II Men's "A Cooleyhigh Christmas" and Brian McKnight's "I'll Be Home for Christmas" albums.