(AllHipHop News) Bruno Mars is an internationally known music superstar.
While the singer-songwriter has built a reputation for making catchy Pop tunes, Mars told Latina that he sees music founded by black musicians, like Hip Hop and R&B, as a powerful force.
“When you say ‘black music,’ understand that you are talking about rock, jazz, R&B, reggae, funk, doo-wop, hip-hop, and Motown. Black people created it all. Being Puerto Rican, even salsa music stems back to the Motherland [Africa],” said Mars. “So, in my world, black music means everything. It’s what gives America its swag.”
The 31-year-old Grammy winner was born in Hawaii, and his parent’s lineage includes Puerto Rican, Filipino as well as Spanish ancestry.
Mars, “I’m a child raised in the ‘90s. Pop music was heavily rooted in R&B from Whitney, Diddy, Dr. Dre, Boyz II Men, Aaliyah, TLC, Babyface, New Edition, Michael, and so much more. As kids this is what was playing on MTV and the radio. This is what we were dancing to at school functions and BBQs.”
Throughout his career, the “24K Magic” performer collaborated with numerous rap acts such as B.o.B., Eminem, Royce da 5’9″, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, and Cee Lo Green.
However, not everyone is happy with Bruno’s embrace of Hip Hop.
Angie Stone, a former member of the rap trio The Sequence, expressed her concerns that Mars and Mark Ronson’s smash hit “Uptown Funk” ripped off the group’s 1979 single “Funk You Up.”