West Coast rapper/singer Anderson .Paak and pop megastar Bruno Mars have formed a musical juggernaut with their Silk Sonic project. Together, they dropped a new single “Leave the Door Open” on Friday that’s a surefire hit. Anderson .Paak + Bruno Mars Bring Silk Sonic To Life Anderson .Paak’s last album, 2019’s Ventura, peaked at No. […]
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Back in 2018, Twitter ignited with accusations of cultural appropriation against Bruno Mars, who critics said was cashing in on music inspired by Black entertainers. At the time, Mars responded by saying all genres of music, from jazz to hip-hop, have roots in the Black community. “In my world, Black music means everything,” he said at the time. Now, Mars is once again addressing his cultural appropriation backlash, this time by explaining his inspirations.
Bruno Mars recently sat down for an interview with The Breakfast Club alongside Anderson .Paak in support of their recent Silk Sonic single “Leave The Door Open.” Charlamagne Tha God, the host of The Breakfast Club, asked Mars how he felt about being accused of “cultural theft.” Mars responded by saying he does draw inspiration from Black legends like Prince and James Brown:
“I’ll say, you can’t find an interview where I’m not talking about the entertainers who have come before me. The only reason why I’m here is because of James Brown, Prince, Michael [Jackson], that’s the only reason why I’m here. I’m growing up as a kid watching Bobbie Brown saying, ‘Okay, if that’s what it takes to make it, then I gotta learn how to do the running man, I gotta learn how to do the moonwalk.’ That’s it. This music comes from love. If you can’t hear that, then I don’t know what to tell you.
It’s the truth, it’s not a secret. Like I said, we’re wearing the inspiration on our sleeve. What is the point if us as musicians if we can’t learn from the guys that come before us? I hope later on, down the road, there’s going to be a band that’s taking what we did and flipping that, and freaking that, and putting their own spin on it. Because if we don’t, then what was the point of us doing this?”
Charlamagne then asked Mars if he was ever “pissed off” by the cultural appropriation critics, and Mars said he wasn’t fazed. Rather, he understands that Black creators are oftentimes not given the credit they deserve. “There’s merit to what people are saying about Black entertainers not getting their flowers,” he said. “I’m champion of that, I’m with that. […] I understand. It’s just Twitter, man.”
Watch a clip of Mars and .Paak’s interview on The Breakfast Club above.
Bruno Mars is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Anderson .Paak was one of the supporting acts on Bruno Mars’ world tour in support of his album 24K Magic, and it turns out that’s where the seed of pair’s new band, Silk Sonic, was planted. The way Mars tells it, though, things really got started with .Paak getting drunk on his 25th birthday and joining Mars in the studio.
Mars and .Paak chatted about the project and their new song “Leave The Door Open” with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. Mars explained, “There’s a song on the album that we started in 2017, that was on tour. And it was just a little phrase that we had that we were joking around going back and forth about. When we got to the studio, I actually called him on his birthday and I said, ‘I think I figured out that little hook we had. Come to the studio.’ He’s like, ‘It’s my birthday.’ So he came drunk. After every take, he was on fire.”
.Paak then chimed in, “My 25th birthday, bro, what was I going to do?”
Mars continued:
“That’s what it was. It snowballed. And it was like, well, want to come back tomorrow? And we kept coming up with music. It felt like why you fall in love with music in the first place. And jamming with your buddy… There’s no plan, just working out the parts and trying to excite each other. That’s why this wouldn’t happen if it didn’t make sense and it didn’t feel natural and organic. This was a series of events that led us to, ‘Man, why don’t we just do it?’ Starting with the tour, us creating a friendship and a bond and talking to each other and sharing the same love for music, getting into the studio, quarantine, all of these things. it was the equation to get this album and it’s… that’s God.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars have both proven to be phenomenal artists in their respective fields, but sometimes, two good things are better as one, and that’s exactly what the two singers will look to show next. Anderson and Bruno announced last week that they would soon release an album together as Silk Sonic.
Outside of a confirmed appearance from Boosty Collins, details on the upcoming body of work are limited, but tonight the first single from the effort has arrived. “Leave The Door Open” is a groovy number that sees the duo promising to keep a spot in their lives open for a past lover. It comes with a match visual that finds Anderson and Bruno passionately playing the song in a studio.
The new track is the first piece of music from Anderson in a few months. The Cali-born singer was a bit busy in 2020 thanks to singles like “Jewelz,” “Cut Em In” with Rick Ross, and “Lockdown,” a track that was later remixed with help from Noname, Jay Rock, and JID.
Bruno, on the other hand, has been rather quiet for the last few years. His last album arrived in 2016 with 24K Magic, an effort that gave him six awards at the 2018 Grammys including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year. His other releases since then include “Please Me” with Cardi B and “Blow” with Ed Sheeran and Chris Stapleton. Elsewhere, he’s also set to produce and star in music-centric Disney film.
Give the new single a listen above.
Bruno Mars is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Stop the presses — two of music’s most legendary groovers are collaborating.
In an unexpected Instagram post from Bruno Mars — who has been relatively quiet on the new music front since his controversially won Album Of The Year at the 2018 Grammys — revealed that he and Anderson .Paak have teamed up for what is sure to be one of the funkiest supergroups around. Dubbing themselves Silk Sonic, Mars shared that the two have already made a whole album’s worth of material together, and the first new song will be dropping next week, March 5.
“We locked in and made an album,” Bruno wrote on Instagram. The band’s called Silk Sonic. First song drops next Friday 3/5.”
This isn’t the first time .Paak has worked with another artist for an entire album. His project NxWorries is a supergroup with LA legend Knxwledge, and their 2016 album Yes Lawd! is still a fan-favorite. Bruno isn’t a stranger to working with other big names, he infamously pulled Cardi B onto “Finesse” at the height of her career, and has worked with The Police (!) already. But he hasn’t gone as far as to create an entire album with another artist, so it will be fascinating to see how this plays out. In the meantime, check in next Friday to get the first taste of Silk Sonic.
