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The crooner took to social media to ask why the ’24k Magic’ singer is rarely mentioned in R&B discourse.
He tweeted:
“Why y’all never put Bruno in the R&B convo? smh”
It’s an interesting question and one that is fast generating healthy debate.
It’s undeniable that Mars makes mostly R&B music, so why so often is his output categorized by others as “Pop”?
From our vantage point, it’s a an issue that is predates Bruno and is not his fault in any way.
Rather, there has long been the grating industry practice of christening R&B by Black artists as being “R&B,” but equally authentic R&B from non-Black artists as “Pop” – with the latter garnering more play and exposure.
Again, we don’t see this as a “Bruno Mars thing.” Especially as he has ALWAYS given props to his influences and referred to his own music as the R&B that it is.
That said, there is a broader industrial issue that ought to be addressed.
With that, what are…