The question is why does it take a non-black artist to revive a genre that Blacks engineered? Especially since Black people were still doing it. He just retrograded his sound from archival Black genres like 70s soul, funk, new jack swing, etc. Nothing wrong with liking his take on those songs but we do have a problem here where Black people can't get on with our own music but non-black artists can.
@@levelup9547 its not his fault that he has a platform. Should he stifle his talent. No. Don't be mad at him be mad at the music industry. He has the voice of an angel and we are blessed to hear it. 💗💕💞
He definitely need to credit the Artist that he is emulating. I never hear him get bing the props. Maybe I missed it. And on send me a link, with him giving Credits. I am waiting…🥹🥹🥹🥹
*_“the real problem with R&B today, is not that Bruno Mars takes inspiration from it, but that he’s pretty much the only person who does so and enjoys mainstream commercial success. Meanwhile, many very talented artists keep pushing the genre forward, but do not reach the same level of exposure as their predecessors.“_* This reframes the appropriation narrative in a nutshell. This was such a well-written script! Well done 👏 subscribed! 👍
Very talented artists push the genre forward releasing music no one wants to hear. Release good music and they will have the same level of exposure and success.
@@JeronimoFury Tinashe, Miguel, Jasmine Sullivan and several others release good music and don't get any support from the GP. Unless the artist is a black rapper, they are not getting much exposure
R&B is not dead. It's just that it's not mainstream anymore. Talent died out from mainstream, because it's easier to do autotuned mumble rap with easy beat than song with instrumentation, layers, harmonies and a lot of mixing. As an R&B singer myself, doing a solid R&B song takes a time....record labels don't want no time, they want to rush everything since we have streaming and something is trendy one day and not the second. That's why we get untalented Instagram models presented in mainstream 🙂 but if you search harder, you will find a loooot of R&B singers 🙂
In other words cheap music with cheap replaceable no-talents. When Silk Sonic won 🏆 Best R&B, Song Of The Year and Album Of the Year, I was in tears of joy. There are TRUE TALENTED MUSICIANS out there that have a higher level of understanding and respect for REAL MUSIC. Percussionist, Anderson Paak was asked in an interview, what type of music he wanted to put out and he got my respect with these few words: "I wanna put something out that I am proud of." Bruno DEFINITELY gots respect from me with musical background/talent. Looking fwd to the next album. #TEAMSILKSONIC
it can be both dead and not mainstream anymore. No r&b song of today sounds like r&b from the 90s or the 2000s , just take rnb goups like boyz ii men, jagged edge etc, what song of today sounds like them ? Who sounds like Usher ? today it's more hip hop , no rnb song of today sounds like before.
@@mankeydumpty4371 I don't agree. Tracy Cruz do pretty much 00s Neo Soul music yet remains unnoticed. Funky DL does jazzy hip hop with 90s flavor. And so much more artists do old school music, but like I said, they are unnoticed 🙂
Burno never forgets the artists in the past who he admire and learned from, he made you never forget the music they brought to the world, he loves being a performer and he is a genius at it. Also Anderson and Burno both guys are both great at what they do, their heart is in the music you can see it in their songs.
Burno is super talented, but isn't a genius someone like Prince or Miles Davis that creates a brand new sound of music rather than recycles what other people already did?
Lets not forget that aside from getting credit to and collaborated with black artist, but also that Bruno changed only because he didn't want to be pigeonholed/stereotyped by the music industry. He earned his success and people like that women in the beginning of the video are reason why we can't have nice things. If you want black R&B artist to get more attention, then support those artist. There is a conversation to be had here, and I'm glad this channel is doing it in a mature way.
LOVE this analysis! One thing you forgot to mention, which is implied, is how exceptional Bruno is at songwriting. The REASON his songs have done so well, is because they are incredibly written. Every lyric, concept, and structure of his songs are very delicately crafted to almost ensure a hit. There's an art to hit songwriting. He has written with/for Major Lazer, Adele, Charlie Wilson, Jay Z, Kanye, Lil Wayne, Adam Lambert, Alicia Keys....Talented human. Thanks for the video 🤎
R&B could never die regardless of what people say about him Bruno makes beautiful music and that’s all I care about is how I connect with it. It’s wrong for him to have soul in his heart like he does? he’s passionate and if he able to switch it up how can people be mad because he is talented. I don’t care if he was purple with one eye if it sound good and moves me that’s what matter.
No, but it is wrong that the Black artists who engineered that sound never got the proper compensation or credit but Bruno Mars and Adele etc get to slide in on the retrograde and snag the credit and money. That is another form of racism that so many Black people ignore because we just want to be entertained. Black innovators are always erased and pushed out of genres they created from jazz to rock and hip hop and soul are next. Wake up.
@@levelup9547 I was born woke and got that point without having to watch the video. I said it was racism within music when I was probably 10 when my grandfather told me how Elvis took another man style and he didn’t get the credit he deserve. My grandfather was born in 1905 and was the baby of five brother so I got raw and real stories so it’s impossible for me to be sleep. Still not changing how I feel about his music maybe because I want to lol But anywho I’m still going to listen to whoever music I find to be moving and of course society and the industry does what they do on purpose to own beautiful people.
@@levelup9547 Bruno Mars has always shown love and appreciation for the musicians who came before him. He's worked side by side predominantly black artists to create his music. Music is about sharing and appreciating different cultures regardless of our physical differences.
R&B is arguably experiencing a renaissance right now, with SZA’s Good Days, Giveon’s Heartbreak Anniversary and Kali Uchis’ Telepatia being some of the biggest hits in the genre, to say nothing of Silk Sonic.
RnB is my second favorite genre behind metal. I think RnB isn’t what it used to be simply because the newest generation doesn’t have the capacity to listen to it. It just seems that the fast culture we have today doesn’t mesh well with the lack of attention we have. It takes a relaxed (even romantically inclined) person to listen to it. It is even more to get men to listen to it. Yes, I’m in “Gen Z” and I’m honestly in love with RnB. The sensuality, style and *soul* are what set it apart.
Exactly todays generation so desperately wants to be what already was and has no idea how to be their own thing. We're in the reboot generation because people these days can't comprehend anything below the superficial surface of what they think fame is.
@@IAteFire You're giving off a "I'm a closeted, pretentious keyboard warrior" vibe. Dude, get off my cock. I have met *very few* people in my own generation who even know of Brian McKnight, Lyfe Jennings or even the Deftones. Just because I consciously make an effort to pay attention to the artistry and history of songs doesn't make me elitist. It makes me informed and from there I draw parallels to the fast food-esque culture of on-demand music. I think many in my generation don't have the attention spans (based on actual evidence). How am I special? I'm not. Stop making assumptions. Probably would've faired better to had been normal and ask me why I have that point of view...
Bruno’s skin color shouldn’t be something we talk about in a negative kind of way. What does he do to deserve that? Because he is more successful than ur own faves? Bruno started with pop, and that’s how he got signed to a label. I don’t think he felt home when he was doing pop, so he started with RnB. You can literally not find one interview, where he doesn’t praise all the people that came before him. *TALENT SHOULDNT GET HATE*
Bruno Mars is able to garner the fame and acclaim for his music because he isn't Black m. It's the Elvis Presley effect to make the non-black person the face of Black music and culture. It is another form of racism against Black people.
The real problem with R&B music and black R&B musicians not doing well commercially has more to do with how one large corporation (iHeartMedia) owns almost 900 radio stations, including 86 of the top 100 stations in the USA. They started sidelining black artists to stay solely on the R&B charts while non-black artists like Bruno Mars and Adele existed on both the pop and R&B charts. In the 2000s, radio stations put well performing R&B songs from acts like Usher and Destiny’s Child on the pop charts where they belonged. This happened just as the EDM trend exploded, and so it wasn’t noticed by many people when albums like 4 by Beyonce underperformed on the charts. But surely almost a decade later it has to be pointed out, that the arbitrary way the industry assigns labels to black artists they never assign to non-black artists has a huge effect on their chart visibility and thus commercial performance. I wish the “cultural critics” actually did some research instead of just venting their feelings and thinking they did the world a favour.
I remember when Tyrese dropped his last album he went on a rant about how someone like Sam Smith can release a R&B/Soul song & it’ll get played everywhere but black artist will only get played on R&B stations.
GET THEM CLEAR EM! For some reason, nobody likes to speak about this! But I also wanna say, Beyoncé’s 4 era was so iconic and actually very impactful around the world bestie.
He didn’t say he’s the only one. He said he’s the only one that has always gotten mainstream success despite the genre. The Weeknd is definitely mainstream now and has been for a long time but his music isn’t RnB the same way Bruno Mars’ is RnB. Bruno is more traditional I guess, whilst The Weeknd is constantly evolving what RnB and pop can be and has been doing that since his very first song.
@@penisnt weeknd is experimental RnB. He mixes 80s pop with RnB melodies. He. is very different and unique tho hard to place him in a box. Songs like out of time and scared to live are pretty much RnB.
Bruno Mars is so stupidly talented you can't help but love him. how can ANYONE look at someone so oozing with precise and perfect talent and deny him that? Truly exceptional in so many practices.
I thought R&B was dead too but it's coming back. Luke James, Ro James, DVSN, Lucky Daye, Victoria Monet, Arizona Lennox, Jasmine Sullivan are killing it.
Bruno Mars wasn’t cultural appropriation but more of cultural appreciation he learned the roots of those genres and their artist and he’s always shed light on that
In other words: mostly African-American Musicians & Artists sat down with instruments & created melodic, harmonic, rhythmic & tonal blueprint masterpieces that defined the genre known as R&B/Soul. These Artists & Bands did their musical homework to trailblaze this genre that has a re-birthed legacy thanks to the prolific work of Bruno Mars & Anderson Paak (Silk Sonic). The time that the narrator is speaking of referencing the decline is the 90's into 2000's when digital production R&B linked to Hip-hop replaced real musicians playing in the studios (writing/composition) & live bands (black musicians) no longer being prominent on stages with the exceptions of bands & artists like Mint Condition, Tony Toni Tone, Musiq Soulchild, D'Angelo, The Roots, Jill Scott & Erykah Badu. For the most part in the 90's up to the millennial cycles, digital track productions replaced analog models & the sound (frequency/vibration) of Our music changed because emphasis was no longer placed on playing instruments to create "songs" & "albums". This was strategically done by record companies who have ulterior motives that were exposed by artists like Prince & Michael Jackson. Record executives find it easier to shape the business narrative & practices when creative genius of African-Americans have been marginalized & placed under control for financial purposes. Digital frequencies operate in coordinance with the "new" technologies which we all have to partake of now. Bruno & Anderson may have taken a calculated chance to create a "throwback" sound that put emphasis back on musical composition, arrangement & the collective creative process (🎼🎵). My statements ARE NO slight to Hip-hop as a viable genre of African-American creative genius because "rap artists" are aspiring musicians who did not receive musical training or cultivation through the failing music education programs throughout America's public education schools (middle schools & high schools); therefore, the black musical prototype coming out is more Young Dolph or Da Baby & not Bruno Mars or Anderson Paak. There has to be a way for young aspiring inner-city/urban artists to reconnect back to learning how to play instruments the right way & retap back into their TOTAL creative possibilities because Bruno & Anderson are showing that it can still be done: R&B/Soul FOREVER. Jahleel Eli "Drumline" Movie Cadence Composer: "X-Factor" as performed by The Morris Brown College Drumline (2002)
You give WAAAAY too much credit to Silk Sonic, SZA, Solange, Chloe x Halle and all the other r & b girls did not slave on the charts for u to say Silk Sonic rebirth R&B not to even mention Giveon, Brent Freyaz and my other r and b boooys. R & B beeen on the come up waaaaay before Silk Sonic
@@eo4345 THEY deserve it. THEY obviously did their musical homework (melody, harmony, rhythm & tone). NO ONE ELSE out there at this point goes out on stage or in the studio with live musicians (A full band)! It is even to the point where Anderson is getting recognized for his drum set tuning on the album & other TH-cam cats (drummers) are doing covers of his playing on the songs! That cannot be said of the other artists you mentioned (NO disrespect to them). Anderson & Bruno HAVE paid homage to The Motown Sound, The Philly Soul Sound & The Atlantic Records Soul Sound in their debut work together. MUST be recognized for the turning point that it is. Are you a musician?
I don’t like when they do these things, and why does color always have to still matter now, true I understand his side but I love all kinds of music if it moves me in anyway I don’t care about how you look. I don’t know society is so different now.
Yeah I seen that video a couple of years ago, with the chiggen heads yakkin' the culture vulture smack and we went in on them, stating he's keeping "Real Music" alive and their set "Box Musicians" weren't, so they need to STFU #RealTalk
@@angiegarner58 I think because there's A LOT of bad history when it comes to non black people doing music that was created by black people. You can't just ignore the history and diminish someone's feelings when there's a strong precedent. It may not be fair to artist like Bruno, but it's not fair to the millions upon millions of black people who never receive their due either. I'm sure he knew their would be some backlash.
I must of missed the Bruno hate, because narrator didn’t give any. He gave the man props for what he’s achieved, and he also stated calling him a culture vulture is unwarranted.
R&B isn't the only genre that has seemed to have "died". Rap, Rock, and Metal have also seemed to have "died" as well. Pop music and party-themed Hip Hop are the only music genres that seem to be big now. There's no variety of genres anymore it seems. It's very upsetting. Growing up I remember so many more artists and genres. It's not the same anymore.
I do agree. Not too long ago you could turn on the radio and have very diverse stations and Playlist. You could tell who was who by their style and vocals. I do enjoy some music today, but most are melting together with similar sounds and losing their authenticity for streams.
Bruno Mars started as a pop artist and once he gained fans with that platform began to sing R & B, which really came to a culmination with Anderson .Paak and Silk Sonic. R & B is not dead, but lost it's way a bit due to many factors in my view and few of them have anything to do with Bruno. Many of today's so-called R & B singers aren't that at all. Their breathy singing style and synthed music would really place them in the genre of electronica, electronica/dance or some other pop/emo style and they seem only to be placed in the R & B category because they're Black which really is a bit racist. Authentic R & B reflects a style that is Rhythmic and was characterized by lyrics (the Blues) that focused on love and community, while much of today's music is about revenge, self-empowerment, depression and/or focused on hook-ups. It's really not feel-good music. Additionally, many of the songs are geared toward a youthful audience and the singers may have a popular base that follows them on social media. R & B/Soul music appeals to a range of ages and has a broader audience. The lyrics might be sensual/sexual, but usually are not as explicit which also narrows the appeal of some of today's "singers." And, many are not great performers, which also limits their ability since the best R & B singers put on shows that electrify crowds which also broadens their appeal. I mean singing little snippets of songs on a computer screen is not quite the same as being able to carry an entire concert with your musicality and showmanship which is why many don't have much lasting power. For the music business it's a cheap way to act as though they are supporting R & B/Soul music when they really are not. It costs money to hire a real band, to pay a REAL singer and it takes time to put together a quality project that will stand the test of time. I wasn't a Bruno fan, until Silk Sonic, but he is a good performer who enjoys and respects the music. But, Anderson .paak is an excellent fusion artist who was carrying on the legacy of R & B/Soul before those two ever got together. He just never got the support and attention until now, which is a shame. Finally, unlike some think good relevant R & B doesn't need to push the envelope, because even if it stays true to its Rhythm & Blues roots, it will naturally be expressed in the contemporary manner of the times.
Thank you! You had me at 'breathy singers'! Whenever I ask to listen to today's R&B, they roll out someone breathing out the notes instead of singing, they have no real range of notes, because you can't get them out that way! Every once in a while you get a real R&B singer. I don't know if the genre is dead, but it is on life support. I think Silk Sonic is a breath of fresh air. I also agree with you about the explicit lyrics in today's music. For me it is just too much! I prefer innuendo, my imagination is better than anything anyone could say! Thanks for your post!
The what do u call Bruno album before the current album? That's not r and b ? It didn't take him hooking up with paak to do r and b matter of fact most of his music is r and b u need to look up the meaning of pop music and where it originated from before u make this technical long comment on trying to.compare pop music to r and b
@@anthonytaylor7928 Bruno began as pop, even he's admitted that. I don't call any of his albums R & B, and really never even listened to Bruno except when played the 24 karat one on the local soul channel (KRNB) and it was the only one they played. You can call it what you like of course.
I feel like artists like Steve Lacy, Kali Uchis, Lucky Daye and Ravyn Lenae are really bringing back RnB. I believe they are all under 35 so I am looking forward to hearing what they come out with next
You'll have to thank Tyler the Creator for putting them together. He's capable, it just isn't his thing personally. But he knows talent when he sees it.
As long as someone can pick up an instrument and actually play it, R&B, Rock and Jazz will never die, at the present time as far as on the airwaves, they're being over shadowed by Box Musicians and Hip Hop in mainstream music, especially in the U.S. due to the cookie cutter marketing of the industry here stateside A lot of music nowadays lack any real dynamics and are mostly loop based, especially as far as instrumentation is concerned and acts like Bruno, Anderson and Silk Sonic are bringing the dynamic sonic landscape back into mainstream music
Thank you for this presentation! Bruno’s showmanship and musicality gives me flashbacks. He’s one of the “generation” sparks my interest in the “new” R&B scene. Greetings from a 63yr, BW baby boomer who listens to mostly Old school- R&B, Rock and Pop. 👍🏽
You really don't need to know how the R&B genre has evolved to understand Bruno's place in R & B. Bruno is a pop star. He is famous. It's because of his popularity. He can sing any genre of music and it will reach millions. Of course, he's very talented and is marketable.
He said it a couple of times in the video - Bruno’s ‘unique position’. it has less to do with musical style and more to do with the set of skills he brings together as one. An example would be that in the latter decades of Prince’s career, he struggled to sell albums or singles, but was the biggest selling tourer there was. People CRAVE that live performance skill of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s and Bruno is the only contemporary artist doing that. If Bruno was any other race, his success would be exactly the same.
Bruno is the kind of success story that encourages me as a underground artist with a small following. Seeing how he’s developed his skills and slowly blown up after seizing each and every opportunity he’s been giving has been inspirational! Mans has quickly become a mainstay in the industry and for good reason. Dude is too nice! I know if I put in the work, I can reach a larger audience some day too, but for now, I’m happy being a supporter. My turn will come too. Salute to Bruno🔥
Everything that the narrator is saying about what Bruno Mars is doing for R&B music and how he's bringing it back to the mainstream, it's so true. Bruno Mars is a breath of fresh air for music.
In 2017, R&B made its comeback. It wasn't Bruno Mars. It was Daniel Caesar. His record "Freudian" is one of the best Neo Soul RnB records in the 21s century. Completely relying on real instrumentation and his cadences and emphasis on actual jazz phrasings made his record some of the best thing we've gotten in the 2010's. Plus, everyone was into that record in 2018. I remember hearing Daniel Caesar everywhere. But then again I live in California.
@@PoeCommunicateATL It was. He's a pop star to me. Silk Sonic is awesome though. Anderson .Paak is one of the grooviest drummers ive heard ever. But I really do think Daniel Caesar is the comeback of RnB and not Bruno.
The questions this video raised, and some of the comments I see are making me think more about R&B than I have in years. It made me think of timelines. Silk Sonic is basically bringing the sounds of the 70s and 80s back. That's 40+ years ago. I'm an 80s baby. I was a 90s kid, and teen. The R&B I listened to in the 90s were Jodeci, Dru Hill, Boyz II Men, etc. Imagine an artist back then saying, "I want to bring it back to the Golden Oldies" And they made music that sounded like Nat King Cole or Cab Calloway or something. No one would be into it. Why? Because the music from the 60s, to the early 2000s still had soul. The reason Silk Sonic still has mass appeal now is because the music of the past couple of decades lack that human touch. It's so inspired by the roughness of rap, and the infusion of digital media, it's been lifeless. It's a novelty hearing real instruments and soulful voices. It's us longing for a time when things hit your soul instead of just your ears.
Bruno Mars is a musical genius and a one man band. He can do everything: sing, dance, play multi instruments, write, produce and direct, and is so funny. Huge Bruno Mars fan.
The problem that people have with Bruno Mars is the fact that he started out a popstar. And a popstar who dressed and styled as a white man all except for skin color. That gave him an edge because now he's reaping the benefits that black R&B singers are striving for because he appeals to the white crowd or pop crowd while black R&B singers never become big unless they go pop. This is why The Weeknd has become so big. His mainstream superstar success is due to his switch to pop music. Had he stayed with R&B, he would not be this big. Meanwhile, you have established R&B legends like Chris Brown, Omarion & Usher not getting the push they very well need to attract this new generation of artists and at the same time, performers that have those same skills like Jacob Latimore and Tone Stith who don't get appeal to this new generation. And what scares me about 24K Magic & Silk Sonic, while I love those projects, is that it'll start a paradox to where everyone is going to start trying to make retro nostalgic R&B instead of PUSHING the genre FORWARD and innovate the sound in Contemporary & Traditional R&B. If R&B is already as bad as it is now, then it'll become stagnant when everyone tries to start making music from decades ago. That will really kill the genre wholesale.
I amgoing tohave to criticize your comment here. 1. You can't dress like a white man. Only black folks come with the acting white crap. 2, Since when Chris Brown and Omarion a established R&B legends Has our music really became that thumb downed. You are kidding me right? My main criticism of Today;s R&B and why I don't relate or listen to it anymore 3. You can innovate the genre while still making it more soulful without it sucking It is not R&B at all anymore 90s R&B was the best decade or R&B next to the 60s and 70s. It evolved.What happened. It just does not work. The whisper voices.Most of the songs are super slow. You don't even have R&B songs you dance to anymore. There is no feeling in R&B anymore. I am sorry most R&B sucks now. That is why people seem to go back the older sound. Something is missing in R&B music these days. Innovating is where make something new and add on to it. Not when you take something away which most R&B artist did. Something is 100% missing. I also blame rap music for this too. Every R&B song does not have to have a hip-hop beat. And what happened to the R&B bands? I am not talking about R&B groups. I am talking about the actual bands that played instruments? Earth Wind and Fire for example. R&B is now melodic rap. Which is fine but there is no diversity in R&B styles and there is no diversity between black musicians. There is none. And that is sad. And that is what scares me the most. I am sorry but I use to love R&B. I loved it so much. I tried to get into H.E.R and ChloeXHalle and SZA but there is something missing from their music. And I am afraid if we keep on "innovating" we won't get whatever missing back. I am beginning to hate the R&B genre and what it is becoming. I mean you literally called Chris Brown and Omarion R&B legends when they are talented in their own way, there is nothing special or "innovative" about them. Is that all we have. Music is dumb downed these days it is sad. What R&B become is sad. We don't have legends anymore.
@@lisah8438 Chris Brown literally is the most impactful R&B singer from the 2000s. Ed Sheeran, H.E.R., Justin Bieber, Zayn, Bryson Tiller, Jacob Latimore, etc are influenced by him. His impact makes him a legend.
Bruno is just super talented and puts out great catchy extremely well produced and performed music. If you really wanted to, you could make the same criticism's of Prince, who's look was racially ambiguous and he had a white actress play his mother in Purple Rain, further confusing people. There is definitely validity in the argument about skin color and recognition, but one thing that remains true is that if you want your music to reach a mass audience you better have some catchy hooks . That's why Stevie Wonder is universally praised as one of the most genius artists ever. That's why Michael Jackson had the biggest selling album of all time before his skin changed. That's why Kanye West became one of the biggest superstars in the world. If you want Bruno level success, but you can't produce Bruno level hooks... sorry, but it's not going to happen.
Race has nothing to do with it Isn’t ms Bruno a helliweird satanick masonick entertainment industry created sellout and a gender inverted female that has been deliberately deceiving the public by masquerading as a male r&b singer, allegedly?
I've been a fan of Bruno Mars since 2010 and I had mostly stopped listening to maintream music by then. I'm an 80s baby who grew up on 90s RnB, so I was really sad when popular Black artists started doing techno and EDM and stopped doing RnB in the late 2000s. I remember being blown away by Bruno's live performances on TH-cam. Yes, he would do pop songs but he always had an RnB breakdown in his live performances and his voice was perfectly suited to RnB. I believe that pop was more marketable at that time but he preferred RnB and reggae. As he got more successful, he was able to control his own destiny and do the music he loved. What annoys me is that as soon as he got mainstream success, Black people began to notice him and call him a culture vulture, when he has been doing Black music his entire career - it's just that the singles were pop songs pushed by his label. He was out there making RnB songs while some of your faves were doing EDM. I'm a Black person so I understand the sensitivity that we have about appropriation. Non Black people profit more in Black arts than Black people do - look at Eminem. Suddenly, hip hop is not so bad when Eminem does it. I get it. I understand being mad at someone like Justin Timberlake because he is mediocre and I feel like he actually was a culture vulture. However, I think it is unfair to lump Bruno into this category as he has always done Black music in his concerts and albums, he is actually good at the style, he is a talented musician, shouts out Black artists who came before him and he employs a Black band and dancers. What more do you want him to do? To me, he is an elite artist (up there with Beyonce and co) but he gets disrespected because he has the audacity to do Black music. I would rather him start with pop and transition to RnB than do what Pink did and start with RnB, ony to diss it later on and behave as if pop rock is superior. He took a risk of going back to RnB when everyone was doing house music and I respect him for that. Yes, it's unfortunate that non Black people get more support but that's the fault of the fans and the media, not Bruno himself.
I would argue that people like Bruno Mara are SAVING R&B and keeping it in the mainstream. They appreciate their musical elders and are proud to immolate them.
I have to say, as a massive R&B fan, reading a casual listener say Bruno Mars, a pop artist, is ‘saving r&b’… is quite soul destroying, not sure whether to laugh or cry 😂 It’s really frustrating that people think that, and it goes to show just how much of an exposure problem the genre is having right now.
Amazing video on Bruno Mars. R&B music is still here and not going anywhere. R&B is still good when I listen on Urban AC Radio when they still play legends and play new songs. He started as a Pop Artist and cross over to R&B. That dude got talent. They can't hate on his talent. Real R&B is been outstanding back in the days. I miss real music. He did his thing. him and Anderson. Paak did a great job as Silk Sonic.
First would like to say how thorough and insightful this video was on the history of R&B and the groundbreakers that took it to such heights. Very well done description of a rich and evolving sound. Also props for presenting Bruno Mars' relevancy and importance to natural R&B. I'm a musician that has played in cover bands for years, and even have had the honor to play with a few national artists so the music is definitely important to me. The last few years it has seemed (for me) that R&B has taken a turn that I can't connect with anymore, which is sad. But this presentation gave a great explanation of Bruno's contribution and value to the genre. I even have more respect for Bruno and appreciate what he's doing for R&B. Many genres of music don't change too much, but R&B has constantly evolved - sometimes bringing completely refreshing twists. The beauty is in the history - the artists that can bring a touch of that back into play and create new styles from their predecessors that connect it all will help keep R&B alive and well. There are many out there, much of which don't necessarily make the same commercial success. But they can build a huge following and through collaborations with more known artists, help re-establish R&B over and over again.
I like Bruno - he's been successful because he puts more emphasis on the music than the hype plus he's a real musician that gives great live performances ! While most artists are trying to be thugs and earn street cred Bruno comes up with "Silk Sonic" , Make great music and collaborates with folks like Anderson Paak ... Dude make'n Smart moves, real music !!!
Bruno definitely shows appreciation of his influences in the R&B genre however, he does get an advantage because he is a light skinned racially ambiguous male performer. It is unfortunate to see that darker skin black artist don’t get the recognition that he gets. Also sometimes I feel bad for lighter skin artist like Alicia Keys, Mariah, Bruno etc because people constantly bring up their complexion being a contributing factor to their success in the industry (which it is) when they are so talented and driven. Lastly Bruno Mars is one heck of a live singer and overall performer.
@Rick James the video is definitely correct. I’m just saying there aren’t many dark skin artist in the mainstream besides rappers. Not saying they don’t exist it’s just less dark skin singers over the past decade
Light skinned artists are looked as more marketable and record labels will put up big bucks to promote them. RCA records signed both Normani and Doja Cat but guess whose getting multiple big budget videos, festival appearances, big album rollout and heavy radio airplay? Not the one with the chocolate skin
@@j-dub22 exactly 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽. Bruno mars is definitely talented but pushed more to the fore front because of his complexion. Same with Doja Cat, Adele, Britney Spears etc. Normani definitely has what it takes to be the best big pop superstar she just isn’t pushed enough like you said. Side note Normani’s music is kinda bland to me.
@@j-dub22 Normani is barely releasing music though. How long has it been since she announced an album? Doja didn’t even get popular until two albums (and several EPs) in. You guys are even saying it yourself - Normani’s music is on the blander side
OK let’s keep it real here Bruno Mars is very talented. I’m glad you address one of the biggest criticisms of him is that he lacks originality. But you forgot to discuss the other big elephant in the room. These record companies the establishment especially the Grammys they prefer anyone that’s not black! The constant erasure of Black people from our own music it’s a constant cycle, wash, rinse, repeat. Remember Adele is apparently the best singer in the world. Meanwhile Jill Scott and Ledisi are out here singing their asses off and can sing any genre of music, Adele cannot. Also you said Bruno Mars had the versatility of Marvin Gaye yeah you can get out of here with that. Bruno Mars is very talented but his R&B voice is not great dude. He’s nowhere near Marvin Gaye or Luther Vandross or any of those guys you went to far with that one buddy. It makes me angry to see so many great R&B artists get marginalized.
I never heard anyone say Adele was the best singer in the world. I think her appeal is more from her songwriting which might be better than the others you mentioned. I can't stand her music personally but can't deny her talent as a songwriter. Much of her records are just vocal with piano, bass and drums, so it's real, it's just not for me. She appears to sing the music that is inside her rather than jumping on whatever trend is out there like a lot of other artists.
@@nameisamine so? You think that changes anything? They give out token wins to appease the complaints of lack of inclusion. You should know this by now 😐
Incorporating the cultural appropriating clip really turned me off from the video... Bruno is an incredible artist who's always given credit to his black influences, definitely an appreciator of the culture not an appropriator...otherwise cool vid
Culture IS appropriation. Full up copying isn't cool, but taking what you listened to as a kid and making it your own is just what talented people do. Black, white, Puerto Rican everybody just a freakin'.
And the thing is, people like Eminem and Bruno Mars give praise and appreciate the culture in which their music is inspired and stems from. APPRECIATION and APPROPRIATION are not the same. Gatekeepers need to chill with that.
R&B ain't going nowhere,Bruno Mars is a very talented well rounded artist,thing is this ain't no Dr Dre bringing Eminem thing,Bruno can play,sing and write,he ain't the most soulful cat,however he has respect as a talent and connects, he plays instruments which is a lost art in modern R&B,
It's just a matter of real music with dynamics vs. the looped based boxed music that's heavily promoted in the mainstream black music market today and Bruno is bringing back the real deal
how unpleasant it is to ensure that Bruno's success comes from his racial ambiguity, he is talented, period. He himself has commented how difficult his appearance was for him because the record companies did not know how to sell him and that is why he began as a composer of other arts and later became a singer, all because of his effort. There are so many non-black artists who do R&B, hip hop, rap and they're only against Bruno for something he can't change: HIS SKIN COLOR
This. As a Filipino we POC should preach solidarity and understanding and not tear each other apart or have an oppression contest. Bruno can't help looking like that and I wish people would stop hating him for it.
Omg, you’re back! I hope you’re doing well! Every time someone mentions Bruno Mars when talking about R&B i can’t help but think about the segment Grapevine TV did back a couple of years ago. To me, Bruno isn’t a culture vulture. It’s clear as day that Bruno is heavily influenced by Black artists. I do agree that his ambiguity and him being non-Black is the reason why he’s more successful than someone who is an unambiguous Black person.
@@chamham6734 The lawsuits are only for "Uptown Funk," and keep in mind that Mark Ronson also produced that track. Bruno always gives props to the black artists that influenced him.
I don't think it has anything to do with him being ambiguous at all. He's talented, period. There hasn't been anyone like him in the past decade who can dance, play, and perform the way he does. He's also written songs for other artists that became hits. His talent got him his international status. People forget Bruno's been performing since he was a child and was raised around musicians.
His live shows are amazing, every song he's on a different instrument.like prince,,, He dance like James brown. And sings like Micheal. When he's with his group, he turns to the four tops and temptations. And he's still young...
@@pacolocohawaii4835 All true. But how about some originality? Every great artist steals but they wear their influences on their sleeve. It's not the entire shirt. He's talented though.
Word. Bruno's signing with MoTown was serendipitous! It gave him the chance to study the past, take the best elements and integrate them with the modern styles. Silk Sonic will do well!
I think part of Silk Sonic's success this year is that the 70's has had a huge revival in the past two years - musically but also in it broadest cultural sense (especially fashion). Bruno Mars has always been good at tapping into various influences (just like Mark Ronson, through his collab with Bruno and also Amy Winehouse that had a distinct Motown vibe). Bruno's "Locked out of heaven" could've been a song by The Police - and if you look at his performance at Super Bowl years back it had some Morris Day vibes to it. What makes Silk Sonic stand out is that they deliver the full package - both musically, with their attitude and stylewise. They are serious musicians but don't take themselves too seriously, as was evident with the awesome acceptance speech at the Grammy's this year :). Even if they might do something that is heavily influenced by other music in the past, they stand out on today's music scene, where there's so much that sound the same within each genre of music. Be it hiphop, trap, drill, pop, rock, heavy metal, jazz etc. So few artists are truly distinguishable from one another, and it doesn't take long to decode the formula used for many of the top songs in the charts. Because people consume what's familiar and goes down easy. Thought I'd like to highlight a few artists that also brought out some albums inspired by an "old" sound, and while they had some success with it - they never got worldwide acclaim for it. Raphael Saadiq's album "The Way I See It" (2008) and Jamie Lidell's "Multiply" (2005). And naturally, Jamiroquai contributed to the soul and funk revival. The thing about music is that it's circular in the sense that some style or influence is bound to return and gain traction again. I remember in highschool back in the early 90's when Oliver Stone did the movie "The Doors" - and all of a sudden a new generation discovered Jim Morrison and The Doors, which paved way for even more 60's rock infused bands and artists. When my kids listened to The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" - I could dish out 10 songs from the 80's in the same style. What I hope for though, since making music is more accessible today, is that being a good musician and gifted at one or several instruments is still considered valuable. Even if you can mimic quite a bit without live instruments doesn't mean you have to.
I can say that r&b isn’t a popular genre anymore, but I can’t say it’s dead. The old r&b songs from previous decades still speak to people. Blues are a feeling. You can’t kill that.
I'm going to let u finish.😐..but uh Mariah Carey brokered the harmony of pop and r&b track to be blended with rap songs she did that way before ja rule, 50 cent, Nelly, usher or drake... Even Mary j Blige blurred the lines of hip hop and R&B ... Put some Respek on Mariah Carey & Mary j Blige names 🧐🔥🔥🔥🧐
U deserves more likes. They deserves more flowers for she wrote her own songs and co-wrote and produce her #1 hits. YESS THANK YOU! Hope they do video on Mariah Carey ,Mary J Blige and more of R&B Music.
I do think Lucky Daye, Giveon, & Khalid have what it takes to become the next black R&B superstars of the 2020’s decade. A lot of other current R&B artist are so bland and generic to me 😵💫
The fact that Lucky Daye and Bruno and Anderson have DMile to thank for pushing R&B forward is telling. DMile will save R&B and is using the success of Silk Sonic to tap more into R&B. We have to sew and understand the bigger picture. DMile is the next generation’s Quincy Jones and I am so excited to see what he is cooking up.
It's ironic for me this convo is coming up, because just this weekend I was internally rejoicing that we are seeing a new generation of rb pop artists. I usually listen to a lot of pop and reggae, and country, but my RB playlist is poppin off! Normani and Chloe are coming for rb pop, Jazmine Sullivans heaux tales got its flowers, Summer Walker got a no1 album, Giveon, Ari Lennox and Munilong are consistent on the charts. I literally think we are seeing a new era pop rb emerging before our eyes
R&B music is not just a great music genre but a beautiful artform. I hope it is able to revive itself in the near future. Bruno Mars is handsome and immensely talented.
Woah, just because you love Bruno mars does not mean he is the only one putting out quality r&b music. There are others that do not have the mainstream push that he has. A few others that come to mind are Dvsn, Jacob latimore, Adrian Marcel, Sza, etc. Mainstream society prefers to see an ambiguous artist like Bruno singing black music; we need to be honest about that.
Yea honestly R&B is still stacked to the brim with incredible artist and also the weekend's had even more commercial success than Bruno whole also being an R&B artist
I wholeheartedly agree. His racial ambiguity definitely benefitted him. I don't particularly like his music per say, I'd say that I simply acknowledge his talent. I actually didn't say that he's the only person putting out quality R&B (quite the opposite actually). But you're right in saying that there are PLENTY of incredibly talented R&B artists today who do not get enough exposure and in many cases, colorism and racial bias definitely play a role in that.
Every genre is destined to fade away that’s how music progresses. There will always be new rock artists and new R&B artists that are popular but the genre will never be at its former peak unless there’s a resurgence.
Respectfully, this is a laughable comment. As somebody who’s day job is in the music business, I can tell you Bruno mars hasn’t revived the genre at all imo. As popular as he is there’s no influx of new r&b males inspired by Bruno Mars, and that’s because Bruno operates in a _Pop Crossover_ space rather than an R&B one. His peers aren’t Usher or Chris Brown. His peers are Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran and The Weeknd: Popstars. (Although the weeknd really was a truly groundbreaking r&b artist in his early career) IMO all of the artists actually doing the _real reviving_ in R&B music are majority female: Summer Walker, Jazmine Sullivan, SZA, H.E.R. Ari Lennox etc. and the R&B males coming to prominence like, Daniel Caesar, Lucky Daye, Brent Faiyaz and Giveon are taking ZERO cues from Bruno. Bruno’s not leading the genre or keeping it alive, not in my view. To do that you have to be influencing others. You praise his Authenticity, yet authenticity remains, by far, Bruno’s biggest criticism and his most widely debated shortcoming, as many find his music as pastiche almost to the point of parody.
As an r&b-head, I don’t consider Bruno Mars an R&B artist, and tbh I never did, mainly because he never makes contemporary r&b music. Traditional r&b exists of course, but his peers aren’t Ledisi, PJ Morton or Raphael Saadiq. On the contrary, Bruno is a Pop artist who digs up past sounds from r&b, soul, funk, rock n roll, Motown etc all for a pop crossover hit in the present.. this has become a bit of a contrived and predictable formula. If there’s a vintage black music trend from the last 75 years, he’s going to hop on it, sometimes to the point of borderline parody. He’s constantly trawling around the graveyard of past black music trends that have fallen out of the mainstream consciousness and fashions together these frankenstein pastiche versions of classics that standout in the current music scape but, although well made, pale in comparison to the timeless records they were inspired by. I often keep this opinion to myself, because I am a fan, and have much respect for his vocal talent. I can call Bruno Mars derivative, that’s a valid critique, but I can never call him untalented. His derivativeness is more of a nitpick, because in spite of it, he’s still pretty much the best the mainstream music industry has to offer right now.
I don't know if you're old enough to remember Sha na na, a nostalgic band that had a good run in the 1970's covering rock and roll songs from the 1950s. Silk Sonic is almost doing the same thing, in my opinion. Borderline parody indeed.
Saying Bruno Mars can't play r&b is like saying a white or Latin American person can't play jazz, like who cares just let people enjoy the music they want to
Race has nothing to do with it Isn’t ms Bruno a helliweird satanick masonick entertainment industry created sellout and a gender inverted female that has been deliberately deceiving the public by masquerading as a male r&b singer, allegedly?
I love Bruno Mars and his music he is so talented nevertheless it is unfair for him to be givin praise, noteritey, and fame for making music that many unambiguously black man and women get shut out in. Like why do they put Bruno in Pop but Beyonce, Chris Brown, & Rihanna in “urban contemporary” 🧐. It seems like the industry prefers they’re r&b music by none black artists. Even if you look at Adele. If Adele was Black she would not have 18 grammys and two AOTY awards. 🤷🏽♀️
There are so many successful, awarded black r&b artists? Bruno started as a pure popstar first, so was awarded in pop. His current and last album are nominated and awarded in r&b genres. He’s going to have more popularity cause his audience and fan base is more diverse. Also your last statement isn’t very strong when Beyonce has almost the most grammys.
@@dontbemad6460 Your right the issue is Bruno gets to hop back in forth from pop, r&b and does get pigeon hold in one genre of music. Unlike black artist who from the get get thrown in r&b and rap section soley because they’re Black. And yeah Beyonce has so many grammys and 95 percent of them are in the urban and r&b section. It make zero since how Bruno Mar has a AOTY year grammy with an r&b album. But Beyonce has Zero and she’s actually Black 🤣.
Bruno Mars gave credit to all the R and B artists who came before him. Its the white record industry that has gotten rid of Our Soul Music and replaced it with BS rap and hip hop
@@popkultureguru1596 yes many of the issues you’ve stated are definitely an industry problem. Im not sure what Bruno can do about that. He’s always explored multiple genres from his debut. R&B albums have had album of the year before, just cause its not Beyonce doesn’t mean black artists don’t get rewarded, but they definitely should get rewarded more.
Umm also side note. Why are we using the grammys as an example. Wouldn’t things like sales and numbers be a better indicator. We all know award shows have diversity issues and are biased. But the black artists you mentioned have amazing sales, even more than Bruno sometimes, so clearly people are listening to them.
Very decent analysis. However, I think that the major problem as it relates to creating a compelling R&B hit today requires one to stick to the mandates for which good solid music is based. There appears to be a failure to understand the long embeded lyrical structure of Shakespeare's pentameter, the syllable and vowel inclusions within the lyrics based on a 5 and 10 syllable structure where the first and third lines rhyme and the second and forth lines rhyme as well. This new thing attempting to masquerade as soulful R&B tends to function on a rapid rhytmic pattern where the first line rhymes with the second and the third rhymes with the fourth. It neither provides a platform for the melody to grow or the lyrics to be adequately explored and appreciated. One of the masters of that style of writing and production is Smokey Robinson not only one of the great singers out of Motown but one of its most competitive songwriting and production machines. His Tracks of My Tears is a masterpiece of that 5 and 10 syllabic style on top of a powerful melody delivering a dynamic message. Those complaining about Bruno Mars appropriating black R&B musical style would do well to go back to the drawing board and incorporate the old well established rules of lyrical writing using the pentameter style of delivery and laying it on top of powerful compelling melodies.
Summer Walker has seen some mainstream success, and she's undeniably R&B. Bruno Mars does a lot of throwback soul and funk. I wouldn't really call him an R&B artist, and he's not doing anything to push the genre forward. He's a novelty act replicating the 70s and 80s.
Today's RnB: Microwaved Yesterday's RnB : Well cooked n Seasoned Thanks Bruno, Kali, Lucky D, Alex Isley, H E R and a few other for keepin the Soul in RnB.
R&B is still there, it just isn't as popular and I can see why as almost everything sounds the same (ALMOST) I'm glad Bruno Mars is bringing back such a style with the help of Anderson Paak
I think this video needs to be retitled as male r&b. Female r&b has been doing pretty well consistently through the years we still have people like Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Jhene Aiko Kehlani Ariana is becoming more r&b and newer artists like Normani, SZA, HER, Muni Long and Chloex Halle,. There's also artists like the Weeknd who had the biggest song of 2021. R&B isn't dead it's evovled and its predomiately females who have carried it.
Ariana made a fully R&B album “Positions”, imo it is her first genuine r&b album from start to finish. It was Grammy nominated only in Pop categories…because she’s marketed as a white popstar. That exact same album with the same production, same everything, but sung by a black woman would not be placed in pop categories.
Bruno Mars not only keeping real R&B alive; he’s bringing the “musicianship” with it. He actually PLAYS instruments. I never even HEARD of Anderson.Pack until he hook up with Bruno; and plays a mean set of drums @ that! These record labels are a part of the problem; and the population is changing. A lot of the “talented” artists are dying off and the fans that were around to support these artists are dying off as well. So the labels are focussing on the newer generation and Un4tunately good music went out the window. I miss those days when we had R&B BANDS; real SINGERS; real SHOWS without prerecorded tracks. You HAD to bring it! That why I like Bruno Mars. He BRINGS it! That’s what R&B needs! I miss Mint Condition. I hope they’ll get back 2gether. I just hope Bruno will take care of himself health wise so he can be around for a LONG TIME! We NEED him and ANDERSON.PACK.😌🎶🥁🎸🎹👍🏾
Bruno is just Bruno. Fantastic in many areas. He is the IT of the IT’s ….. not his fault that he was blessed with so many gifts and decided to work his Ass off despite set backs. Nothing was handed to him. Whatever Culture Appropriate (?) means it’s the Jealous Flavor of this time ! THE MAN and his Village are FANTASTIC 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥✨✨✨✨✨🫠👏🏼👏🏼
I love Bruno Mars. I LOVED that he has revived the R&B genre. R&B has never lost its relevance. It lost its platform.
The question is why does it take a non-black artist to revive a genre that Blacks engineered? Especially since Black people were still doing it. He just retrograded his sound from archival Black genres like 70s soul, funk, new jack swing, etc. Nothing wrong with liking his take on those songs but we do have a problem here where Black people can't get on with our own music but non-black artists can.
@@levelup9547 its not his fault that he has a platform. Should he stifle his talent. No.
Don't be mad at him be mad at the music industry. He has the voice of an angel and we are blessed to hear it. 💗💕💞
@@levelup9547 Asking the real question.
@Tapro Music None of Western medicine was made by white people dear. And y’all aren’t the only western people btw. Stay mad. 😘
@@Toni_BarbieBrown Girl bye with your Mammyisha.
The best thing about Bruno Mars is his vocals are so good even in live performances. That's so rare nowadays on mainstream artists.
I can’t listen to his music for some reason. It sounds more pop like
@@Lavenderhaaze woah woah relax now😂
He definitely need to credit the Artist that he is emulating. I never hear him get bing the props. Maybe I missed it. And on send me a link, with him giving Credits. I am waiting…🥹🥹🥹🥹
@Andre Webb yeah man, gotta agree with that anyway but he is good regardless
@Andre Webb yeah and I think he still makes music for white people lol
*_“the real problem with R&B today, is not that Bruno Mars takes inspiration from it, but that he’s pretty much the only person who does so and enjoys mainstream commercial success. Meanwhile, many very talented artists keep pushing the genre forward, but do not reach the same level of exposure as their predecessors.“_*
This reframes the appropriation narrative in a nutshell. This was such a well-written script! Well done 👏 subscribed! 👍
Very talented artists push the genre forward releasing music no one wants to hear. Release good music and they will have the same level of exposure and success.
@@JeronimoFury Tinashe, Miguel, Jasmine Sullivan and several others release good music and don't get any support from the GP. Unless the artist is a black rapper, they are not getting much exposure
@@wildheart2978 Good music is subjective. If the general public ain't feeling it they simply ain't feeling it.
@@wildheart2978 Then the music aint good
@@JeronimoFury bullshit. If that's true then why isn't Anthony Hamilton a Popstar?
R&B is not dead. It's just that it's not mainstream anymore. Talent died out from mainstream, because it's easier to do autotuned mumble rap with easy beat than song with instrumentation, layers, harmonies and a lot of mixing. As an R&B singer myself, doing a solid R&B song takes a time....record labels don't want no time, they want to rush everything since we have streaming and something is trendy one day and not the second. That's why we get untalented Instagram models presented in mainstream 🙂 but if you search harder, you will find a loooot of R&B singers 🙂
In other words cheap music with cheap replaceable no-talents. When Silk Sonic won 🏆 Best R&B, Song Of The Year and Album Of the Year, I was in tears of joy. There are TRUE TALENTED MUSICIANS out there that have a higher level of understanding and respect for REAL MUSIC. Percussionist, Anderson Paak was asked in an interview, what type of music he wanted to put out and he got my respect with these few words: "I wanna put something out that I am proud of." Bruno DEFINITELY gots respect from me with musical background/talent. Looking fwd to the next album.
#TEAMSILKSONIC
Great explanation!
You are right and same thing happened with rock and other genres they are not dead just not mainstreamed anymore
it can be both dead and not mainstream anymore. No r&b song of today sounds like r&b from the 90s or the 2000s , just take rnb goups like boyz ii men, jagged edge etc, what song of today sounds like them ? Who sounds like Usher ? today it's more hip hop , no rnb song of today sounds like before.
@@mankeydumpty4371 I don't agree. Tracy Cruz do pretty much 00s Neo Soul music yet remains unnoticed. Funky DL does jazzy hip hop with 90s flavor. And so much more artists do old school music, but like I said, they are unnoticed 🙂
Burno never forgets the artists in the past who he admire and learned from, he made you never forget the music they brought to the world, he loves being a performer and he is a genius at it. Also Anderson and Burno both guys are both great at what they do, their heart is in the music you can see it in their songs.
Burno
You know u can edit comments now
BURNO MRAS
You mean like Elvis?
Burno is super talented, but isn't a genius someone like Prince or Miles Davis that creates a brand new sound of music rather than recycles what other people already did?
Lets not forget that aside from getting credit to and collaborated with black artist, but also that Bruno changed only because he didn't want to be pigeonholed/stereotyped by the music industry. He earned his success and people like that women in the beginning of the video are reason why we can't have nice things. If you want black R&B artist to get more attention, then support those artist. There is a conversation to be had here, and I'm glad this channel is doing it in a mature way.
LOVE this analysis! One thing you forgot to mention, which is implied, is how exceptional Bruno is at songwriting. The REASON his songs have done so well, is because they are incredibly written. Every lyric, concept, and structure of his songs are very delicately crafted to almost ensure a hit. There's an art to hit songwriting. He has written with/for Major Lazer, Adele, Charlie Wilson, Jay Z, Kanye, Lil Wayne, Adam Lambert, Alicia Keys....Talented human. Thanks for the video 🤎
Good point! His songs are bops thru and thru
R&B could never die regardless of what people say about him Bruno makes beautiful music and that’s all I care about is how I connect with it. It’s wrong for him to have soul in his heart like he does? he’s passionate and if he able to switch it up how can people be mad because he is talented. I don’t care if he was purple with one eye if it sound good and moves me that’s what matter.
No, but it is wrong that the Black artists who engineered that sound never got the proper compensation or credit but Bruno Mars and Adele etc get to slide in on the retrograde and snag the credit and money. That is another form of racism that so many Black people ignore because we just want to be entertained. Black innovators are always erased and pushed out of genres they created from jazz to rock and hip hop and soul are next. Wake up.
@@levelup9547 I was born woke and got that point without having to watch the video. I said it was racism within music when I was probably 10 when my grandfather told me how Elvis took another man style and he didn’t get the credit he deserve. My grandfather was born in 1905 and was the baby of five brother so I got raw and real stories so it’s impossible for me to be sleep. Still not changing how I feel about his music maybe because I want to lol But anywho I’m still going to listen to whoever music I find to be moving and of course society and the industry does what they do on purpose to own beautiful people.
Cosplaying as Black People’s souls is 1850 racism dear.
@@levelup9547 Thank you. The Black Community is so annoying. They get so easily entertained.
@@levelup9547 Bruno Mars has always shown love and appreciation for the musicians who came before him. He's worked side by side predominantly black artists to create his music. Music is about sharing and appreciating different cultures regardless of our physical differences.
R&B is arguably experiencing a renaissance right now, with SZA’s Good Days, Giveon’s Heartbreak Anniversary and Kali Uchis’ Telepatia being some of the biggest hits in the genre, to say nothing of Silk Sonic.
THIS
We can’t forget Kevin ross out here
Don't forget ChloeXHalle
Kali Uchis is fire 🔥🔥🔥
as well as summer walker and ari lennox
Bruno doesn’t just have spectrum of vocals but has spectrum of artistry. He almost did everything. His fans are from toddler to 70 years old.
RnB is my second favorite genre behind metal. I think RnB isn’t what it used to be simply because the newest generation doesn’t have the capacity to listen to it. It just seems that the fast culture we have today doesn’t mesh well with the lack of attention we have. It takes a relaxed (even romantically inclined) person to listen to it. It is even more to get men to listen to it. Yes, I’m in “Gen Z” and I’m honestly in love with RnB. The sensuality, style and *soul* are what set it apart.
Well said', also a gen z
You’re giving off big “I’m not like other boys/girls” energy
Exactly todays generation so desperately wants to be what already was and has no idea how to be their own thing. We're in the reboot generation because people these days can't comprehend anything below the superficial surface of what they think fame is.
@@IAteFire You're giving off a "I'm a closeted, pretentious keyboard warrior" vibe. Dude, get off my cock. I have met *very few* people in my own generation who even know of Brian McKnight, Lyfe Jennings or even the Deftones. Just because I consciously make an effort to pay attention to the artistry and history of songs doesn't make me elitist. It makes me informed and from there I draw parallels to the fast food-esque culture of on-demand music. I think many in my generation don't have the attention spans (based on actual evidence). How am I special? I'm not. Stop making assumptions. Probably would've faired better to had been normal and ask me why I have that point of view...
Metal and r&b are your two fav genres? What kind of unicorn are you?!
Bruno’s skin color shouldn’t be something we talk about in a negative kind of way. What does he do to deserve that? Because he is more successful than ur own faves? Bruno started with pop, and that’s how he got signed to a label. I don’t think he felt home when he was doing pop, so he started with RnB. You can literally not find one interview, where he doesn’t praise all the people that came before him.
*TALENT SHOULDNT GET HATE*
people talking about how is racial ambiguity grants him a level of privilege that is not afforded to visibly black artists is not “negative”. lol
Bruno Mars is able to garner the fame and acclaim for his music because he isn't Black m. It's the Elvis Presley effect to make the non-black person the face of Black music and culture. It is another form of racism against Black people.
I don’t think acknowledging something that’s true is a negative
No artists race should be talked about - period.
Why do y’all always try to make us feel bad for that blackfisher?
The real problem with R&B music and black R&B musicians not doing well commercially has more to do with how one large corporation (iHeartMedia) owns almost 900 radio stations, including 86 of the top 100 stations in the USA. They started sidelining black artists to stay solely on the R&B charts while non-black artists like Bruno Mars and Adele existed on both the pop and R&B charts. In the 2000s, radio stations put well performing R&B songs from acts like Usher and Destiny’s Child on the pop charts where they belonged.
This happened just as the EDM trend exploded, and so it wasn’t noticed by many people when albums like 4 by Beyonce underperformed on the charts. But surely almost a decade later it has to be pointed out, that the arbitrary way the industry assigns labels to black artists they never assign to non-black artists has a huge effect on their chart visibility and thus commercial performance.
I wish the “cultural critics” actually did some research instead of just venting their feelings and thinking they did the world a favour.
I remember when Tyrese dropped his last album he went on a rant about how someone like Sam Smith can release a R&B/Soul song & it’ll get played everywhere but black artist will only get played on R&B stations.
THANK YOU!! 👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾
Exactly 💯
GET THEM CLEAR EM! For some reason, nobody likes to speak about this! But I also wanna say, Beyoncé’s 4 era was so iconic and actually very impactful around the world bestie.
@@jcdx87 I did not hear this!
He's not the only only one, we literally have The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, SZA, Brent Faiyaz, Giveon, Kali Uchis, the list goes on
Thank u
He didn’t say he’s the only one. He said he’s the only one that has always gotten mainstream success despite the genre. The Weeknd is definitely mainstream now and has been for a long time but his music isn’t RnB the same way Bruno Mars’ is RnB. Bruno is more traditional I guess, whilst The Weeknd is constantly evolving what RnB and pop can be and has been doing that since his very first song.
@@penisnt weeknd is experimental RnB. He mixes 80s pop with RnB melodies. He. is very different and unique tho hard to place him in a box. Songs like out of time and scared to live are pretty much RnB.
Miguel man. Miguel is just butter smooth R&B
Frank Ocean, SZA, Brent Faiyaz, Giveon, Kali Uchis are more Neo soul. not really R&B.
Bruno Mars is so stupidly talented you can't help but love him. how can ANYONE look at someone so oozing with precise and perfect talent and deny him that? Truly exceptional in so many practices.
I thought R&B was dead too but it's coming back. Luke James, Ro James, DVSN, Lucky Daye, Victoria Monet, Arizona Lennox, Jasmine Sullivan are killing it.
Summer Walker, SZA, Giveon, HER, Ella Mai, ect. Personally, I like R&B and I'll still listen to it even if it dies out. I don't care.
R&B has not died, D'Angelo still breathes
Bruno Mars wasn’t cultural appropriation but more of cultural appreciation he learned the roots of those genres and their artist and he’s always shed light on that
In other words: mostly African-American Musicians & Artists sat down with instruments & created melodic, harmonic, rhythmic & tonal blueprint masterpieces that defined the genre known as R&B/Soul. These Artists & Bands did their musical homework to trailblaze this genre that has a re-birthed legacy thanks to the prolific work of Bruno Mars & Anderson Paak (Silk Sonic). The time that the narrator is speaking of referencing the decline is the 90's into 2000's when digital production R&B linked to Hip-hop replaced real musicians playing in the studios (writing/composition) & live bands (black musicians) no longer being prominent on stages with the exceptions of bands & artists like Mint Condition, Tony Toni Tone, Musiq Soulchild, D'Angelo, The Roots, Jill Scott & Erykah Badu. For the most part in the 90's up to the millennial cycles, digital track productions replaced analog models & the sound (frequency/vibration) of Our music changed because emphasis was no longer placed on playing instruments to create "songs" & "albums". This was strategically done by record companies who have ulterior motives that were exposed by artists like Prince & Michael Jackson. Record executives find it easier to shape the business narrative & practices when creative genius of African-Americans have been marginalized & placed under control for financial purposes. Digital frequencies operate in coordinance with the "new" technologies which we all have to partake of now. Bruno & Anderson may have taken a calculated chance to create a "throwback" sound that put emphasis back on musical composition, arrangement & the collective creative process (🎼🎵). My statements ARE NO slight to Hip-hop as a viable genre of African-American creative genius because "rap artists" are aspiring musicians who did not receive musical training or cultivation through the failing music education programs throughout America's public education schools (middle schools & high schools); therefore, the black musical prototype coming out is more Young Dolph or Da Baby & not Bruno Mars or Anderson Paak. There has to be a way for young aspiring inner-city/urban artists to reconnect back to learning how to play instruments the right way & retap back into their TOTAL creative possibilities because Bruno & Anderson are showing that it can still be done: R&B/Soul FOREVER.
Jahleel Eli
"Drumline" Movie Cadence Composer: "X-Factor" as performed by The Morris Brown College Drumline (2002)
@Jahleel Eli: At least 1 of Bruno's songs were written by Morris Day.
@@rosalynbeatty8310 👍👍🌟
You give WAAAAY too much credit to Silk Sonic, SZA, Solange, Chloe x Halle and all the other r & b girls did not slave on the charts for u to say Silk Sonic rebirth R&B not to even mention Giveon, Brent Freyaz and my other r and b boooys. R & B beeen on the come up waaaaay before Silk Sonic
@@eo4345 THEY deserve it. THEY obviously did their musical homework (melody, harmony, rhythm & tone). NO ONE ELSE out there at this point goes out on stage or in the studio with live musicians (A full band)! It is even to the point where Anderson is getting recognized for his drum set tuning on the album & other TH-cam cats (drummers) are doing covers of his playing on the songs! That cannot be said of the other artists you mentioned (NO disrespect to them). Anderson & Bruno HAVE paid homage to The Motown Sound, The Philly Soul Sound & The Atlantic Records Soul Sound in their debut work together. MUST be recognized for the turning point that it is.
Are you a musician?
Dope
Can we please stop the Hate I can't believe what I am hearing I love Bruno mars And I respect him I would never take on a bully side bullies like them
I don’t like when they do these things, and why does color always have to still matter now, true I understand his side but I love all kinds of music if it moves me in anyway I don’t care about how you look. I don’t know society is so different now.
THANK YOU! It's getting tired and Bullies is gotta stop all that.Bruno Mars is the best.
Yeah I seen that video a couple of years ago, with the chiggen heads yakkin' the culture vulture smack and we went in on them, stating he's keeping "Real Music" alive and their set "Box Musicians" weren't, so they need to STFU #RealTalk
@@angiegarner58 I think because there's A LOT of bad history when it comes to non black people doing music that was created by black people. You can't just ignore the history and diminish someone's feelings when there's a strong precedent. It may not be fair to artist like Bruno, but it's not fair to the millions upon millions of black people who never receive their due either. I'm sure he knew their would be some backlash.
I must of missed the Bruno hate, because narrator didn’t give any. He gave the man props for what he’s achieved, and he also stated calling him a culture vulture is unwarranted.
R&B isn't the only genre that has seemed to have "died". Rap, Rock, and Metal have also seemed to have "died" as well. Pop music and party-themed Hip Hop are the only music genres that seem to be big now. There's no variety of genres anymore it seems. It's very upsetting. Growing up I remember so many more artists and genres. It's not the same anymore.
I do agree. Not too long ago you could turn on the radio and have very diverse stations and Playlist. You could tell who was who by their style and vocals. I do enjoy some music today, but most are melting together with similar sounds and losing their authenticity for streams.
R & B is alive, it is just the radio stations have completely programmed it out and don't give listeners a choice.
The thing that most people dont understand is there is no well-rounded artist like him in the industry.
Why americans are so obssessed with color?
@@otohime8516 we are just as obsessed as you are. So stop your hypocrisy! You lot do the same exact thing but call it a different name..
@@dwa3210 ???? I dont give a fuck about color, i dont even interact with people, how can you assume that i am too?
Chris brown
@@YoungFresho Chris Brown is nowhere near good of a instrumentalist is as Bruno. Bruno cam do anything. He will do a tribute to any artist you want.
Bruno Mars started as a pop artist and once he gained fans with that platform began to sing R & B, which really came to a culmination with Anderson .Paak and Silk Sonic. R & B is not dead, but lost it's way a bit due to many factors in my view and few of them have anything to do with Bruno. Many of today's so-called R & B singers aren't that at all. Their breathy singing style and synthed music would really place them in the genre of electronica, electronica/dance or some other pop/emo style and they seem only to be placed in the R & B category because they're Black which really is a bit racist. Authentic R & B reflects a style that is Rhythmic and was characterized by lyrics (the Blues) that focused on love and community, while much of today's music is about revenge, self-empowerment, depression and/or focused on hook-ups. It's really not feel-good music. Additionally, many of the songs are geared toward a youthful audience and the singers may have a popular base that follows them on social media. R & B/Soul music appeals to a range of ages and has a broader audience. The lyrics might be sensual/sexual, but usually are not as explicit which also narrows the appeal of some of today's "singers." And, many are not great performers, which also limits their ability since the best R & B singers put on shows that electrify crowds which also broadens their appeal. I mean singing little snippets of songs on a computer screen is not quite the same as being able to carry an entire concert with your musicality and showmanship which is why many don't have much lasting power. For the music business it's a cheap way to act as though they are supporting R & B/Soul music when they really are not. It costs money to hire a real band, to pay a REAL singer and it takes time to put together a quality project that will stand the test of time. I wasn't a Bruno fan, until Silk Sonic, but he is a good performer who enjoys and respects the music. But, Anderson .paak is an excellent fusion artist who was carrying on the legacy of R & B/Soul before those two ever got together. He just never got the support and attention until now, which is a shame. Finally, unlike some think good relevant R & B doesn't need to push the envelope, because even if it stays true to its Rhythm & Blues roots, it will naturally be expressed in the contemporary manner of the times.
Could you have mad it shorter 💀
Thank you! You had me at 'breathy singers'! Whenever I ask to listen to today's R&B, they roll out someone breathing out the notes instead of singing, they have no real range of notes, because you can't get them out that way! Every once in a while you get a real R&B singer. I don't know if the genre is dead, but it is on life support. I think Silk Sonic is a breath of fresh air. I also agree with you about the explicit lyrics in today's music. For me it is just too much! I prefer innuendo, my imagination is better than anything anyone could say! Thanks for your post!
The what do u call Bruno album before the current album? That's not r and b ? It didn't take him hooking up with paak to do r and b matter of fact most of his music is r and b u need to look up the meaning of pop music and where it originated from before u make this technical long comment on trying to.compare pop music to r and b
@@anthonytaylor7928 Bruno began as pop, even he's admitted that. I don't call any of his albums R & B, and really never even listened to Bruno except when played the 24 karat one on the local soul channel (KRNB) and it was the only one they played. You can call it what you like of course.
Bruno first album was full pop and second was in the middle uptown funk and bruno third album is when he fully went Rnb
I feel like artists like Steve Lacy, Kali Uchis, Lucky Daye and Ravyn Lenae are really bringing back RnB. I believe they are all under 35 so I am looking forward to hearing what they come out with next
Why is there a thing with 35 and under? What’s the appeal?
Steve Lacy!!!!! The Best
@@Neimm like they aren't super established and some are only just getting full albums out. Just new voices/new generation in the RnB genre.
You'll have to thank Tyler the Creator for putting them together.
He's capable, it just isn't his thing personally. But he knows talent when he sees it.
@@Neimm every generation wants to believe that their's is the best in music. But the proof is in the pudding.
I'm so happy, that I know still there are people loving R&B. If there're so many of us, we are able to keep R&B alive...
Love Bruno and his talent
It was once said that R&B would end up just like Rock and Disco.
Sad
And it pretty much has and has done since the early 80s
That’s just music. Every style of music fades out. That’s why people like Bruno are needed
As long as someone can pick up an instrument and actually play it, R&B, Rock and Jazz will never die, at the present time as far as on the airwaves, they're being over shadowed by Box Musicians and Hip Hop in mainstream music, especially in the U.S. due to the cookie cutter marketing of the industry here stateside
A lot of music nowadays lack any real dynamics and are mostly loop based, especially as far as instrumentation is concerned and acts like Bruno, Anderson and Silk Sonic are bringing the dynamic sonic landscape back into mainstream music
Black people never had to stop singing Rock. We chose to stop sing rock music. We decided rap music was better for some reason.
Bruno mars is like the only modern artist I like nowdays
Same
Thank you for this presentation! Bruno’s showmanship and musicality gives me flashbacks. He’s one of the “generation” sparks my interest in the “new” R&B scene. Greetings from a 63yr, BW baby boomer who listens to mostly Old school- R&B, Rock and Pop. 👍🏽
You really don't need to know how the R&B genre has evolved to understand Bruno's place in R & B. Bruno is a pop star. He is famous. It's because of his popularity. He can sing any genre of music and it will reach millions. Of course, he's very talented and is marketable.
@@MaejorArray Agreed. I'd love to hear him sing old country and western songs or Jazz.
He said it a couple of times in the video - Bruno’s ‘unique position’. it has less to do with musical style and more to do with the set of skills he brings together as one. An example would be that in the latter decades of Prince’s career, he struggled to sell albums or singles, but was the biggest selling tourer there was. People CRAVE that live performance skill of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s and Bruno is the only contemporary artist doing that. If Bruno was any other race, his success would be exactly the same.
Bruno is the kind of success story that encourages me as a underground artist with a small following. Seeing how he’s developed his skills and slowly blown up after seizing each and every opportunity he’s been giving has been inspirational! Mans has quickly become a mainstay in the industry and for good reason. Dude is too nice! I know if I put in the work, I can reach a larger audience some day too, but for now, I’m happy being a supporter. My turn will come too. Salute to Bruno🔥
Everything that the narrator is saying about what Bruno Mars is doing for R&B music and how he's bringing it back to the mainstream, it's so true. Bruno Mars is a breath of fresh air for music.
its hard not to like bruno mars, he's amazing
In 2017, R&B made its comeback. It wasn't Bruno Mars. It was Daniel Caesar. His record "Freudian" is one of the best Neo Soul RnB records in the 21s century. Completely relying on real instrumentation and his cadences and emphasis on actual jazz phrasings made his record some of the best thing we've gotten in the 2010's.
Plus, everyone was into that record in 2018. I remember hearing Daniel Caesar everywhere. But then again I live in California.
Nah. Unfortunately, it was Bruno.
@@PoeCommunicateATL It was. He's a pop star to me. Silk Sonic is awesome though. Anderson .Paak is one of the grooviest drummers ive heard ever.
But I really do think Daniel Caesar is the comeback of RnB and not Bruno.
@@daoyang223 I’m with you on that, Freudian is my all time favorite album
The questions this video raised, and some of the comments I see are making me think more about R&B than I have in years. It made me think of timelines. Silk Sonic is basically bringing the sounds of the 70s and 80s back. That's 40+ years ago. I'm an 80s baby. I was a 90s kid, and teen. The R&B I listened to in the 90s were Jodeci, Dru Hill, Boyz II Men, etc. Imagine an artist back then saying, "I want to bring it back to the Golden Oldies" And they made music that sounded like Nat King Cole or Cab Calloway or something. No one would be into it. Why? Because the music from the 60s, to the early 2000s still had soul. The reason Silk Sonic still has mass appeal now is because the music of the past couple of decades lack that human touch. It's so inspired by the roughness of rap, and the infusion of digital media, it's been lifeless. It's a novelty hearing real instruments and soulful voices. It's us longing for a time when things hit your soul instead of just your ears.
Hell, ears too
Bruno Mars is a musical genius and his hard work and talent cannot be denied.
Bruno Mars is a musical genius and a one man band. He can do everything: sing, dance, play multi instruments, write, produce and direct, and is so funny. Huge Bruno Mars fan.
The problem that people have with Bruno Mars is the fact that he started out a popstar. And a popstar who dressed and styled as a white man all except for skin color. That gave him an edge because now he's reaping the benefits that black R&B singers are striving for because he appeals to the white crowd or pop crowd while black R&B singers never become big unless they go pop.
This is why The Weeknd has become so big. His mainstream superstar success is due to his switch to pop music. Had he stayed with R&B, he would not be this big.
Meanwhile, you have established R&B legends like Chris Brown, Omarion & Usher not getting the push they very well need to attract this new generation of artists and at the same time, performers that have those same skills like Jacob Latimore and Tone Stith who don't get appeal to this new generation.
And what scares me about 24K Magic & Silk Sonic, while I love those projects, is that it'll start a paradox to where everyone is going to start trying to make retro nostalgic R&B instead of PUSHING the genre FORWARD and innovate the sound in Contemporary & Traditional R&B. If R&B is already as bad as it is now, then it'll become stagnant when everyone tries to start making music from decades ago. That will really kill the genre wholesale.
I amgoing tohave to criticize your comment here.
1. You can't dress like a white man. Only black folks come with the acting white crap.
2, Since when Chris Brown and Omarion a established R&B legends Has our music really became that thumb downed. You are kidding me right?
My main criticism of Today;s R&B and why I don't relate or listen to it anymore
3. You can innovate the genre while still making it more soulful without it sucking It is not R&B at all anymore 90s R&B was the best decade or R&B next to the 60s and 70s. It evolved.What happened. It just does not work. The whisper voices.Most of the songs are super slow. You don't even have R&B songs you dance to anymore. There is no feeling in R&B anymore. I am sorry most R&B sucks now. That is why people seem to go back the older sound. Something is missing in R&B music these days. Innovating is where make something new and add on to it. Not when you take something away which most R&B artist did. Something is 100% missing. I also blame rap music for this too. Every R&B song does not have to have a hip-hop beat. And what happened to the R&B bands? I am not talking about R&B groups. I am talking about the actual bands that played instruments? Earth Wind and Fire for example. R&B is now melodic rap. Which is fine but there is no diversity in R&B styles and there is no diversity between black musicians. There is none. And that is sad. And that is what scares me the most. I am sorry but I use to love R&B. I loved it so much. I tried to get into H.E.R and ChloeXHalle and SZA but there is something missing from their music. And I am afraid if we keep on "innovating" we won't get whatever missing back. I am beginning to hate the R&B genre and what it is becoming. I mean you literally called Chris Brown and Omarion R&B legends when they are talented in their own way, there is nothing special or "innovative" about them. Is that all we have. Music is dumb downed these days it is sad. What R&B become is sad. We don't have legends anymore.
@@lisah8438 Chris Brown literally is the most impactful R&B singer from the 2000s. Ed Sheeran, H.E.R., Justin Bieber, Zayn, Bryson Tiller, Jacob Latimore, etc are influenced by him. His impact makes him a legend.
@@lisah8438 Excellent point. All of the legends are either old or are passing away.
@@gamingwithdream2005 That doesn't make one a legend.
Hearsay
Bruno is just super talented and puts out great catchy extremely well produced and performed music. If you really wanted to, you could make the same criticism's of Prince, who's look was racially ambiguous and he had a white actress play his mother in Purple Rain, further confusing people. There is definitely validity in the argument about skin color and recognition, but one thing that remains true is that if you want your music to reach a mass audience you better have some catchy hooks . That's why Stevie Wonder is universally praised as one of the most genius artists ever. That's why Michael Jackson had the biggest selling album of all time before his skin changed. That's why Kanye West became one of the biggest superstars in the world. If you want Bruno level success, but you can't produce Bruno level hooks... sorry, but it's not going to happen.
Race has nothing to do with it
Isn’t ms Bruno a helliweird satanick masonick entertainment industry created sellout and a gender inverted female that has been deliberately deceiving the public by masquerading as a male
r&b singer, allegedly?
Is it all about the hooks? I mean some of the best music of all time never would’ve made it to release if that rule was universally followed.
I agree with both of you guys above me
@@nameisamine agreed
MJ had vitiligo. It’s 2022, get with the times.
"They (the music industry) want the music. They just don't want it from us (black people)." - R&B Singer Stephanie Mills
Real talk
they want black music coming from non-black bodies. it's like the movie get out.
I love me some Bruno Mars, his vocals are insane.
I've been a fan of Bruno Mars since 2010 and I had mostly stopped listening to maintream music by then. I'm an 80s baby who grew up on 90s RnB, so I was really sad when popular Black artists started doing techno and EDM and stopped doing RnB in the late 2000s. I remember being blown away by Bruno's live performances on TH-cam. Yes, he would do pop songs but he always had an RnB breakdown in his live performances and his voice was perfectly suited to RnB. I believe that pop was more marketable at that time but he preferred RnB and reggae.
As he got more successful, he was able to control his own destiny and do the music he loved. What annoys me is that as soon as he got mainstream success, Black people began to notice him and call him a culture vulture, when he has been doing Black music his entire career - it's just that the singles were pop songs pushed by his label. He was out there making RnB songs while some of your faves were doing EDM. I'm a Black person so I understand the sensitivity that we have about appropriation. Non Black people profit more in Black arts than Black people do - look at Eminem. Suddenly, hip hop is not so bad when Eminem does it. I get it. I understand being mad at someone like Justin Timberlake because he is mediocre and I feel like he actually was a culture vulture.
However, I think it is unfair to lump Bruno into this category as he has always done Black music in his concerts and albums, he is actually good at the style, he is a talented musician, shouts out Black artists who came before him and he employs a Black band and dancers. What more do you want him to do? To me, he is an elite artist (up there with Beyonce and co) but he gets disrespected because he has the audacity to do Black music.
I would rather him start with pop and transition to RnB than do what Pink did and start with RnB, ony to diss it later on and behave as if pop rock is superior. He took a risk of going back to RnB when everyone was doing house music and I respect him for that. Yes, it's unfortunate that non Black people get more support but that's the fault of the fans and the media, not Bruno himself.
Cannot deny Bruno Mar's talent. Man has been consistent.
Bruno Mars, to me is one of the best artists, he’s in line of his own…
I would argue that people like Bruno Mara are SAVING R&B and keeping it in the mainstream. They appreciate their musical elders and are proud to immolate them.
Great comment, but I think you mean “emulate”. Immolate means to burn up. 😂
I have to say, as a massive R&B fan, reading a casual listener say Bruno Mars, a pop artist, is ‘saving r&b’… is quite soul destroying, not sure whether to laugh or cry 😂 It’s really frustrating that people think that, and it goes to show just how much of an exposure problem the genre is having right now.
I like bruno. It's weird the hate towards him. Dude appreciates r&b. He's not appropriating like beiber and Timberlake.
Amazing video on Bruno Mars. R&B music is still here and not going anywhere. R&B is still good when I listen on Urban AC Radio when they still play legends and play new songs. He started as a Pop Artist and cross over to R&B. That dude got talent. They can't hate on his talent. Real R&B is been outstanding back in the days. I miss real music. He did his thing. him and Anderson. Paak did a great job as Silk Sonic.
First would like to say how thorough and insightful this video was on the history of R&B and the groundbreakers that took it to such heights. Very well done description of a rich and evolving sound. Also props for presenting Bruno Mars' relevancy and importance to natural R&B. I'm a musician that has played in cover bands for years, and even have had the honor to play with a few national artists so the music is definitely important to me. The last few years it has seemed (for me) that R&B has taken a turn that I can't connect with anymore, which is sad. But this presentation gave a great explanation of Bruno's contribution and value to the genre. I even have more respect for Bruno and appreciate what he's doing for R&B. Many genres of music don't change too much, but R&B has constantly evolved - sometimes bringing completely refreshing twists. The beauty is in the history - the artists that can bring a touch of that back into play and create new styles from their predecessors that connect it all will help keep R&B alive and well. There are many out there, much of which don't necessarily make the same commercial success. But they can build a huge following and through collaborations with more known artists, help re-establish R&B over and over again.
I agree
I like Bruno - he's been successful because he puts more emphasis on the music than the hype plus he's a real musician that gives great live performances ! While most artists are trying to be thugs and earn street cred Bruno comes up with "Silk Sonic" , Make great music and collaborates with folks like Anderson Paak ... Dude make'n Smart moves, real music !!!
The man is a heavy weight performer. He really kills it on guitar, too
Bruno definitely shows appreciation of his influences in the R&B genre however, he does get an advantage because he is a light skinned racially ambiguous male performer. It is unfortunate to see that darker skin black artist don’t get the recognition that he gets.
Also sometimes I feel bad for lighter skin artist like Alicia Keys, Mariah, Bruno etc because people constantly bring up their complexion being a contributing factor to their success in the industry (which it is) when they are so talented and driven.
Lastly Bruno Mars is one heck of a live singer and overall performer.
@Rick James I’m talking about ones from the past 15-20 years obviously I can list a lot of darkskin R&B artist
@Rick James the video is definitely correct. I’m just saying there aren’t many dark skin artist in the mainstream besides rappers. Not saying they don’t exist it’s just less dark skin singers over the past decade
Light skinned artists are looked as more marketable and record labels will put up big bucks to promote them. RCA records signed both Normani and Doja Cat but guess whose getting multiple big budget videos, festival appearances, big album rollout and heavy radio airplay? Not the one with the chocolate skin
@@j-dub22 exactly 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽. Bruno mars is definitely talented but pushed more to the fore front because of his complexion. Same with Doja Cat, Adele, Britney Spears etc. Normani definitely has what it takes to be the best big pop superstar she just isn’t pushed enough like you said.
Side note Normani’s music is kinda bland to me.
@@j-dub22 Normani is barely releasing music though. How long has it been since she announced an album? Doja didn’t even get popular until two albums (and several EPs) in.
You guys are even saying it yourself - Normani’s music is on the blander side
Bruno is( in every sense) R&B Music. All the greats before him living or RIP are of proud of him. And so am I.
His first two albums were R&B? 🤔
OK let’s keep it real here Bruno Mars is very talented. I’m glad you address one of the biggest criticisms of him is that he lacks originality. But you forgot to discuss the other big elephant in the room. These record companies the establishment especially the Grammys they prefer anyone that’s not black! The constant erasure of Black people from our own music it’s a constant cycle, wash, rinse, repeat. Remember Adele is apparently the best singer in the world. Meanwhile Jill Scott and Ledisi are out here singing their asses off and can sing any genre of music, Adele cannot. Also you said Bruno Mars had the versatility of Marvin Gaye yeah you can get out of here with that. Bruno Mars is very talented but his R&B voice is not great dude. He’s nowhere near Marvin Gaye or Luther Vandross or any of those guys you went to far with that one buddy. It makes me angry to see so many great R&B artists get marginalized.
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
The Grammys just gave a *very black* Jon Batiste, album of the year.
BIG applause!! I agree with you 💯. I honestly cannot stand Adele’s voice or Bruno’s no matter how talented they are.
I never heard anyone say Adele was the best singer in the world. I think her appeal is more from her songwriting which might be better than the others you mentioned. I can't stand her music personally but can't deny her talent as a songwriter. Much of her records are just vocal with piano, bass and drums, so it's real, it's just not for me. She appears to sing the music that is inside her rather than jumping on whatever trend is out there like a lot of other artists.
@@nameisamine so? You think that changes anything? They give out token wins to appease the complaints of lack of inclusion. You should know this by now 😐
Incorporating the cultural appropriating clip really turned me off from the video... Bruno is an incredible artist who's always given credit to his black influences, definitely an appreciator of the culture not an appropriator...otherwise cool vid
@Tiara Marie It turned me off too. Sensei is an idiot. I don't know why anyone pays any attention to what she has to say.
He didn’t claim that Bruno appropriated black culture. Just that he received such criticisms at one point in his career.
He did the same thing in a video abt Amy Winehouse 🤦
@@theboricuaboy he did not call them culture vultures Just said they had that claim thrown towards them
Culture IS appropriation. Full up copying isn't cool, but taking what you listened to as a kid and making it your own is just what talented people do. Black, white, Puerto Rican everybody just a freakin'.
Idc what race you are you are allowed to create and sing any genre of music you like and anyone who says you can’t in any way just ignore them
Yea
Couldn't have said it better
Who said you couldn’t?
And the thing is, people like Eminem and Bruno Mars give praise and appreciate the culture in which their music is inspired and stems from. APPRECIATION and APPROPRIATION are not the same. Gatekeepers need to chill with that.
Yet, whe' you're Black and do either country music or rock music, you're maligned by everyone (especially Black people).
I’ve been loving Bruno’s vintage touch. I hope he keeps going
R&B ain't going nowhere,Bruno Mars is a very talented well rounded artist,thing is this ain't no Dr Dre bringing Eminem thing,Bruno can play,sing and write,he ain't the most soulful cat,however he has respect as a talent and connects, he plays instruments which is a lost art in modern R&B,
It's just a matter of real music with dynamics vs. the looped based boxed music that's heavily promoted in the mainstream black music market today and Bruno is bringing back the real deal
@@GaryTisdaleFungkSta1 blame the racist industry and government for taken instruments from public schools
Great Review of Burno Mars he is a musical genius. He represents all colors in music.
Bruno Mars music is jammin. The music speaks for itself. It's either good or bad. Now what?
how unpleasant it is to ensure that Bruno's success comes from his racial ambiguity, he is talented, period. He himself has commented how difficult his appearance was for him because the record companies did not know how to sell him and that is why he began as a composer of other arts and later became a singer, all because of his effort. There are so many non-black artists who do R&B, hip hop, rap and they're only against Bruno for something he can't change: HIS SKIN COLOR
This. As a Filipino we POC should preach solidarity and understanding and not tear each other apart or have an oppression contest. Bruno can't help looking like that and I wish people would stop hating him for it.
Omg, you’re back! I hope you’re doing well!
Every time someone mentions Bruno Mars when talking about R&B i can’t help but think about the segment Grapevine TV did back a couple of years ago. To me, Bruno isn’t a culture vulture. It’s clear as day that Bruno is heavily influenced by Black artists. I do agree that his ambiguity and him being non-Black is the reason why he’s more successful than someone who is an unambiguous Black person.
Hi Nicole, yes I'm doing well thank you for asking!
A non-vulture with multiple lawsuits from African American Funk artists?? That’s very oxymoronic…
@@chamham6734 The lawsuits are only for "Uptown Funk," and keep in mind that Mark Ronson also produced that track. Bruno always gives props to the black artists that influenced him.
I don't think it has anything to do with him being ambiguous at all. He's talented, period. There hasn't been anyone like him in the past decade who can dance, play, and perform the way he does. He's also written songs for other artists that became hits. His talent got him his international status. People forget Bruno's been performing since he was a child and was raised around musicians.
He is a culture vulture though. He’s a blackfisher. 💀
I predict if Bruno continues he'll be the The GOAT of Musicians.
His live performances are like 2hr Superbowl shows.
You think that Bruno is nicer than Prince as a musician?
His live shows are amazing, every song he's on a different instrument.like prince,,, He dance like James brown. And sings like Micheal. When he's with his group, he turns to the four tops and temptations. And he's still young...
@@pacolocohawaii4835 All true. But how about some originality? Every great artist steals but they wear their influences on their sleeve. It's not the entire shirt. He's talented though.
Bruno definitely knows what’s good with the music. Thanks for the history and all those other influences also. Music history is amazing!
Word. Bruno's signing with MoTown was serendipitous! It gave him the chance to study the past, take the best elements and integrate them with the modern styles. Silk Sonic will do well!
Bruno Mars is half Puerto Rican and half Filipino FYI...
Ok….
His dad is not all the way Puerto Rican he is half Jewish to be exact
@@tiseytise Jewish isn't a race...
Not black in any shape, form or fashion!
@@dawn9532 it actually is, sometimes. There are actual DNA markers
I think part of Silk Sonic's success this year is that the 70's has had a huge revival in the past two years - musically but also in it broadest cultural sense (especially fashion). Bruno Mars has always been good at tapping into various influences (just like Mark Ronson, through his collab with Bruno and also Amy Winehouse that had a distinct Motown vibe). Bruno's "Locked out of heaven" could've been a song by The Police - and if you look at his performance at Super Bowl years back it had some Morris Day vibes to it.
What makes Silk Sonic stand out is that they deliver the full package - both musically, with their attitude and stylewise. They are serious musicians but don't take themselves too seriously, as was evident with the awesome acceptance speech at the Grammy's this year :). Even if they might do something that is heavily influenced by other music in the past, they stand out on today's music scene, where there's so much that sound the same within each genre of music. Be it hiphop, trap, drill, pop, rock, heavy metal, jazz etc. So few artists are truly distinguishable from one another, and it doesn't take long to decode the formula used for many of the top songs in the charts. Because people consume what's familiar and goes down easy.
Thought I'd like to highlight a few artists that also brought out some albums inspired by an "old" sound, and while they had some success with it - they never got worldwide acclaim for it.
Raphael Saadiq's album "The Way I See It" (2008) and Jamie Lidell's "Multiply" (2005). And naturally, Jamiroquai contributed to the soul and funk revival.
The thing about music is that it's circular in the sense that some style or influence is bound to return and gain traction again. I remember in highschool back in the early 90's when Oliver Stone did the movie "The Doors" - and all of a sudden a new generation discovered Jim Morrison and The Doors, which paved way for even more 60's rock infused bands and artists. When my kids listened to The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" - I could dish out 10 songs from the 80's in the same style.
What I hope for though, since making music is more accessible today, is that being a good musician and gifted at one or several instruments is still considered valuable. Even if you can mimic quite a bit without live instruments doesn't mean you have to.
Excellent historical & musical discourse about R&B... and the brilliant talent of Bruno Mars... thank you🤜🏾🔥🤛🏾
I can say that r&b isn’t a popular genre anymore, but I can’t say it’s dead. The old r&b songs from previous decades still speak to people. Blues are a feeling. You can’t kill that.
It never lost relevance, they just call it POP depending on who's singing it
I'm going to let u finish.😐..but uh Mariah Carey brokered the harmony of pop and r&b track to be blended with rap songs she did that way before ja rule, 50 cent, Nelly, usher or drake... Even Mary j Blige blurred the lines of hip hop and R&B ... Put some Respek on Mariah Carey & Mary j Blige names 🧐🔥🔥🔥🧐
U deserves more likes. They deserves more flowers for she wrote her own songs and co-wrote and produce her #1 hits. YESS THANK YOU! Hope they do video on Mariah Carey ,Mary J Blige and more of R&B Music.
I agree! The rest like Doja Cat, Nikki Minaj & Saweetie sing limped, rap based diluted 'sex' hooks.
Facts people don't give Mariah Carey her flowers for that. She literally changed the industry and their rules.
I do think Lucky Daye, Giveon, & Khalid have what it takes to become the next black R&B superstars of the 2020’s decade.
A lot of other current R&B artist are so bland and generic to me 😵💫
I agree
The fact that Lucky Daye and Bruno and Anderson have DMile to thank for pushing R&B forward is telling. DMile will save R&B and is using the success of Silk Sonic to tap more into R&B. We have to sew and understand the bigger picture. DMile is the next generation’s Quincy Jones and I am so excited to see what he is cooking up.
I would also like to add ro James, Xavier Omar, & Bryson tiller
@@ajat3202 Bryson Tiller is doing everything but releasing music and the things he released post his 2015 "TrapSoul" album is just bland tbh
And not only that but we're missing soul in modern r&b music, im talking about songs where you can feel it.
That's the beauty of music it constantly evolves yet stays the same
Bruno definitely carrying R&B on his back
He is not
Love this video!!!! Well done man. Very accurate, well written , super relevant. 👏👏👏
It's ironic for me this convo is coming up, because just this weekend I was internally rejoicing that we are seeing a new generation of rb pop artists. I usually listen to a lot of pop and reggae, and country, but my RB playlist is poppin off! Normani and Chloe are coming for rb pop, Jazmine Sullivans heaux tales got its flowers, Summer Walker got a no1 album, Giveon, Ari Lennox and Munilong are consistent on the charts. I literally think we are seeing a new era pop rb emerging before our eyes
and Sza
Seren & Co. rocked the world with their critique of Mr. Mars. Respect for adding their video clip
There’s a lot of good R&B singers out here their just not mainstream…
R&B music is not just a great music genre but a beautiful artform. I hope it is able to revive itself in the near future. Bruno Mars is handsome and immensely talented.
Woah, just because you love Bruno mars does not mean he is the only one putting out quality r&b music. There are others that do not have the mainstream push that he has. A few others that come to mind are Dvsn, Jacob latimore, Adrian Marcel, Sza, etc. Mainstream society prefers to see an ambiguous artist like Bruno singing black music; we need to be honest about that.
Yea honestly R&B is still stacked to the brim with incredible artist and also the weekend's had even more commercial success than Bruno whole also being an R&B artist
I wholeheartedly agree. His racial ambiguity definitely benefitted him. I don't particularly like his music per say, I'd say that I simply acknowledge his talent. I actually didn't say that he's the only person putting out quality R&B (quite the opposite actually). But you're right in saying that there are PLENTY of incredibly talented R&B artists today who do not get enough exposure and in many cases, colorism and racial bias definitely play a role in that.
@@the_groove I'm aware. I was replying to comments I read. I watched your entire video.
Dvsn are Trapsoul artists i wouldnt compare them to genuine RNB artists
@@adehela13 Not the music I've heard. They are considered R&B/Soul. I've never heard their sound described as Trap/Soul.
I could give a whole playlist to vibe to , R&B is timeless
Every genre is destined to fade away that’s how music progresses. There will always be new rock artists and new R&B artists that are popular but the genre will never be at its former peak unless there’s a resurgence.
I agree . The music now tho is a transitional . Similarly to the late 80s - early 90s like they did with house music. Watch what I do ….
As a metal fan among many genres I agree.
Bruno needs props, not only is he keeping rnb alive but he keeps it more authentic than anyone in the pop genre.
Respectfully, this is a laughable comment. As somebody who’s day job is in the music business, I can tell you Bruno mars hasn’t revived the genre at all imo. As popular as he is there’s no influx of new r&b males inspired by Bruno Mars, and that’s because Bruno operates in a _Pop Crossover_ space rather than an R&B one. His peers aren’t Usher or Chris Brown. His peers are Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran and The Weeknd: Popstars. (Although the weeknd really was a truly groundbreaking r&b artist in his early career)
IMO all of the artists actually doing the _real reviving_ in R&B music are majority female: Summer Walker, Jazmine Sullivan, SZA, H.E.R. Ari Lennox etc. and the R&B males coming to prominence like, Daniel Caesar, Lucky Daye, Brent Faiyaz and Giveon are taking ZERO cues from Bruno. Bruno’s not leading the genre or keeping it alive, not in my view. To do that you have to be influencing others. You praise his Authenticity, yet authenticity remains, by far, Bruno’s biggest criticism and his most widely debated shortcoming, as many find his music as pastiche almost to the point of parody.
As an r&b-head, I don’t consider Bruno Mars an R&B artist, and tbh I never did, mainly because he never makes contemporary r&b music. Traditional r&b exists of course, but his peers aren’t Ledisi, PJ Morton or Raphael Saadiq. On the contrary, Bruno is a Pop artist who digs up past sounds from r&b, soul, funk, rock n roll, Motown etc all for a pop crossover hit in the present.. this has become a bit of a contrived and predictable formula. If there’s a vintage black music trend from the last 75 years, he’s going to hop on it, sometimes to the point of borderline parody. He’s constantly trawling around the graveyard of past black music trends that have fallen out of the mainstream consciousness and fashions together these frankenstein pastiche versions of classics that standout in the current music scape but, although well made, pale in comparison to the timeless records they were inspired by.
I often keep this opinion to myself, because I am a fan, and have much respect for his vocal talent. I can call Bruno Mars derivative, that’s a valid critique, but I can never call him untalented. His derivativeness is more of a nitpick, because in spite of it, he’s still pretty much the best the mainstream music industry has to offer right now.
I don't know if you're old enough to remember Sha na na, a nostalgic band that had a good run in the 1970's covering rock and roll songs from the 1950s. Silk Sonic is almost doing the same thing, in my opinion. Borderline parody indeed.
Keen observation
This this this !!!!! >>>>
That first paragraph 👍🏼
Not much of Mars fan, he is talented, I do agree with your sentiments tho
Great video!
Saying Bruno Mars can't play r&b is like saying a white or Latin American person can't play jazz, like who cares just let people enjoy the music they want to
Bruno easily is the most talented artist of his generation
Race has nothing to do with it
Isn’t ms Bruno a helliweird satanick masonick entertainment industry created sellout and a gender inverted female that has been deliberately deceiving the public by masquerading as a male
r&b singer, allegedly?
100%
I love Bruno Mars and his music he is so talented nevertheless it is unfair for him to be givin praise, noteritey, and fame for making music that many unambiguously black man and women get shut out in. Like why do they put Bruno in Pop but Beyonce, Chris Brown, & Rihanna in “urban contemporary” 🧐. It seems like the industry prefers they’re r&b music by none black artists. Even if you look at Adele. If Adele was Black she would not have 18 grammys and two AOTY awards. 🤷🏽♀️
There are so many successful, awarded black r&b artists? Bruno started as a pure popstar first, so was awarded in pop. His current and last album are nominated and awarded in r&b genres. He’s going to have more popularity cause his audience and fan base is more diverse. Also your last statement isn’t very strong when Beyonce has almost the most grammys.
@@dontbemad6460 Your right the issue is Bruno gets to hop back in forth from pop, r&b and does get pigeon hold in one genre of music. Unlike black artist who from the get get thrown in r&b and rap section soley because they’re Black. And yeah Beyonce has so many grammys and 95 percent of them are in the urban and r&b section. It make zero since how Bruno Mar has a AOTY year grammy with an r&b album. But Beyonce has Zero and she’s actually Black 🤣.
Bruno Mars gave credit to all the R and B artists who came before him. Its the white record industry that has gotten rid of Our Soul Music and replaced it with BS rap and hip hop
@@popkultureguru1596 yes many of the issues you’ve stated are definitely an industry problem. Im not sure what Bruno can do about that. He’s always explored multiple genres from his debut. R&B albums have had album of the year before, just cause its not Beyonce doesn’t mean black artists don’t get rewarded, but they definitely should get rewarded more.
Umm also side note. Why are we using the grammys as an example. Wouldn’t things like sales and numbers be a better indicator. We all know award shows have diversity issues and are biased. But the black artists you mentioned have amazing sales, even more than Bruno sometimes, so clearly people are listening to them.
Impressed by your research, analysis and delivery. This is a wonderful audiovisual music history lesson. Thank you
Very decent analysis. However, I think that the major problem as it relates to creating a compelling R&B hit today requires one to stick to the mandates for which good solid music is based. There appears to be a failure to understand the long embeded lyrical structure of Shakespeare's pentameter, the syllable and vowel inclusions within the lyrics based on a 5 and 10 syllable structure where the first and third lines rhyme and the second and forth lines rhyme as well. This new thing attempting to masquerade as soulful R&B tends to function on a rapid rhytmic pattern where the first line rhymes with the second and the third rhymes with the fourth. It neither provides a platform for the melody to grow or the lyrics to be adequately explored and appreciated. One of the masters of that style of writing and production is Smokey Robinson not only one of the great singers out of Motown but one of its most competitive songwriting and production machines. His Tracks of My Tears is a masterpiece of that 5 and 10 syllabic style on top of a powerful melody delivering a dynamic message. Those complaining about Bruno Mars appropriating black R&B musical style would do well to go back to the drawing board and incorporate the old well established rules of lyrical writing using the pentameter style of delivery and laying it on top of powerful compelling melodies.
The problem is everyone is spoon fed mumble rap and auto tuned pop crap instead of real music with soul
Exactly. They traded soul for technology
Summer Walker has seen some mainstream success, and she's undeniably R&B. Bruno Mars does a lot of throwback soul and funk. I wouldn't really call him an R&B artist, and he's not doing anything to push the genre forward. He's a novelty act replicating the 70s and 80s.
..But there are folks here calling him a "Genius".
Today's RnB: Microwaved
Yesterday's RnB : Well cooked n Seasoned
Thanks Bruno, Kali, Lucky D, Alex Isley, H E R and a few other for keepin the Soul in RnB.
R&B is still there, it just isn't as popular and I can see why as almost everything sounds the same (ALMOST)
I'm glad Bruno Mars is bringing back such a style with the help of Anderson Paak
Nice one.. Subscribed 👍
I think this video needs to be retitled as male r&b. Female r&b has been doing pretty well consistently through the years we still have people like Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Jhene Aiko Kehlani Ariana is becoming more r&b and newer artists like Normani, SZA, HER, Muni Long and Chloex Halle,. There's also artists like the Weeknd who had the biggest song of 2021. R&B isn't dead it's evovled and its predomiately females who have carried it.
Ariana made a fully R&B album “Positions”, imo it is her first genuine r&b album from start to finish. It was Grammy nominated only in Pop categories…because she’s marketed as a white popstar. That exact same album with the same production, same everything, but sung by a black woman would not be placed in pop categories.
I've been saying this about Bruno Mars for years.... he really is making the best R&B music out of anyone over the last decade
Not necessarily the best r&b music but he consistently makes music with the most crossover appeal.
Bruno Mars not only keeping real R&B alive; he’s bringing the “musicianship” with it. He actually PLAYS instruments. I never even HEARD of Anderson.Pack until he hook up with Bruno; and plays a mean set of drums @ that! These record labels are a part of the problem; and the population is changing. A lot of the “talented” artists are dying off and the fans that were around to support these artists are dying off as well. So the labels are focussing on the newer generation and Un4tunately good music went out the window. I miss those days when we had R&B BANDS; real SINGERS; real SHOWS without prerecorded tracks. You HAD to bring it! That why I like Bruno Mars. He BRINGS it! That’s what R&B needs! I miss Mint Condition. I hope they’ll get back 2gether. I just hope Bruno will take care of himself health wise so he can be around for a LONG TIME! We NEED him and ANDERSON.PACK.😌🎶🥁🎸🎹👍🏾
Bruno is just Bruno. Fantastic in many areas. He is the IT of the IT’s ….. not his fault that he was blessed with so many gifts and decided to work his Ass off despite set backs. Nothing was handed to him. Whatever Culture Appropriate (?) means it’s the Jealous Flavor of this time !
THE MAN and his Village are FANTASTIC 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥✨✨✨✨✨🫠👏🏼👏🏼