24K Magic

He can sing Pop, Funk, Soul, Hip-Hop, disco, rock, R&B, reggae, he can rap, he can dance, he can do everything he proposes in the musical arena, does that make him a good artist? I don't think so, that makes him a genius!!!! I met him from the beginning of his career, and I understood the emphasis on Pop that both he and his manager put because they had to come with a proposal very light and fresh for teenagers, who would become the base of followers that today is faithful. As time went on, his music became more interesting for those of us who were passionate about the arrangements, the instrumentation, the genres that offer greater challenges for the composition and execution of instruments and everything became successful. One of the things I really appreciate about Bruno Mars is the fact of giving so much credit to the musicians in his band. They are not background like in the case of other solo artists, are protagonists in their concerts and videos. I think that Bruno's camaraderie and affection for his band is reflected in the interpretative quality of each of its members when it comes to executing its instrument on each disc. It Is good for an artist to recognize the talent and the loyalty of those around him, in the end, the public will appreciate it because good personal relationships are reflected on the stage. The coexistence between musicians is not easy, but fortunately I think that this situation is surpassed between Bruno and his band. Have passed through our ears The Grenade Sessions, It's Better If You Don't Understand, Doo - Wops & Hooligans, Unorthodox Jukebox and we got to 24K Magic, all this time and up to 2019 we've seen him collaborate with artists as successful as him and, of course, we have witnessed that madness called "Uptown Funk" in which he collaborated with Mark Ronson. There was not a corner of the earth that has not registered the name of Bruno Mars with that song and it is only up to him not to waste all that fame. A man prodigy who gives us in “24K Magic” the same rhythm of "Chunky", that the sweetness of "Straight Up & Down". This easy manner with which he gives the freedom to compose everything that he wants, makes him the most complete artist of the moment. No one can stop feeling seduced by a character with the characteristics of Bruno Mars.

I so wish I could go back in time and live in the real nineties as an adult, instead of a being a twinkle in my father’s eye. Hearing “Finesse” re-introduced me to In Living Color. I had seen old VHS tapes of the comedy show in the garage, and popped them in to this dusty ass player in my grandma’s room that she still would use on the regular. Jennifer Lopez got started as a dancer on that show, and Jim Carey and the Wayans too. So “Finesse” the remix comes out, bringing all those feelings back. I went on a YouTube ILC binge, and am so jealous that I never got to be a fly girl. If they ever reboot, I’m trying out. The album 24K Magic has the original “Finesse”, which is gold all by itself, and contains all of these classic R&B vibes that other musicians don’t even touch upon. We need more fun music like this to lighten up all of our days.

Why did I not like Bruno Mars for the longest time? I thought he was just some sappy pop performer who wrote silly love songs for silly girls to fall in love with. I didn’t really get the Doo-Wops & Hooligans era of his music, and with each single I was forced to listen to by radio, I just started hating more and more. I remember listening to Tyler the Creator’s “Yonkers” where he said the line “and stab Bruno Mars in his goddamn esophagus” and for some reason agreeing. Ah, adolescence. The wisdom that comes with growing up will teach you all about your former self. It took me this album 24K Magic to show me that Bruno Mars might be one of the greatest musical forces out there. Because of this album, I am now more interested in the music of The Gap Band, Charlie Wilson, S.O.S. Band, and George Clinton.

Listening to Lil Duval’s “Smile” all summer 2018 got me in the mood for some electro funk for summer 2019 coming up. He dropped “Pull Up” a month ago, but I need more – I’m in the mood for a whole gang of tracks in this similar style – and so in terms of modern songs, there is no better example than Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic, even if it is a few years old now. I’m listening to the insane production value of every single damn song on here. One thing about Bruno Mars – when he is on, he is on. Flawless vocals comparable to members of 112 or Boyz II Men, and the finest old school synth notes to come out in probably decades. This is not some Cromeo-styled hipster homage. It’s the real deal.

No matter how young or old you are, there’s just something so unmistakably endearing about the music modern R&B maestro Bruno Mars produces, as he’s able to capture the trends of today’s music industry whilst sparking a fire of nostalgia within your heart for the iconic sounds of yesteryear, casting the widest net of sonic tastes imaginable to satisfy virtually any type of listener alive today – It feels a bit strange yet also fulfilling to say this, ‘cause it goes to show how far Mars has come since he first hit the scene, taking an incredibly longue route to discover what sound actually defines him but doing so with the utmost efficacy. You see, at the release of Doo-Wops & Hooligans, Mars was somewhere between a happy-go-lucky Roots Rock performer like Jason Mraz & a barebones Pop idol with no integrity whatsoever, churning out painfully generic tunes such as “Grenade” & “Just The Way You Are” that lacked a sense of personality, so clearly designed to appeal to young, typically-female mainstream audiences that he was more of a joke than someone you’d actually want to spend your hard-earned cash on; I mean, I certainly couldn’t stand a single track he released until I heard him cover Mark Ronson’s “Valerie” as a tribute to Amy Winehouse at the MTV Video Music Awards – Of course, with fame & status came identity & comfort for Mars, using his platform to shell out music that aligned with his interests growing up, suddenly introducing modern millennial audiences to New Jack Swing, R&B Slow Jams, Funk & all manner of Soul jams in the subsequent years, thus turning him into a powerhouse of personality you couldn’t bring yourself to look away from, culminating at long last with his most recent album 24K Magic which is by all standards the best record he’s ever put into the ether; It’s a collection of songs that are wholly unique to this day & age whilst simultaneously championing the greatest subgenres to have ever hit the classic R&B scenes, educating contemporary listeners & bringing a smile to the faces of old-heads such as myself in the best of ways. Even so, it’s not without its faults, as it’s one thing to take inspiration from the past but it’s another entirely to attempt fusing such techniques with today’s ideals, a feat he certainly accomplishes for the vast majority of 24K Magic but that quickly becomes a detrimental crutch on a handful of numbers throughout.