I get that ATRL doesn't know about Bruno's life but it's really funny y'all trying to accuse him of being ungenuine when this is the easiest thing to clock with his receipts. Like, he has been doing this all his life literally.
A shame that user was being sarcastic to me with the story about Iggy being as genuine as Bruno when it comes to her music A complete disrespect to Bruno's life and career.
Justin Timberlake started out singing country songs on star search, moved onto pop music as a teen/adult, and then started making "R&B infused" pop music when he hooked up with Timbaland.
Iggy has always been a rapper, so how is she using it as a platform to come off edgy?
Also, Bruno modeled himself after Elvis, and we're suddenly supposed to think he has loved funk/black music all his life? I mean, the possibility is totally there, but I don't see the receipts.
Let's not act like Justin wasn't singing Jodeci songs and Chaka Khan songs on The Mickey Mouse Club though. I don't ever defend him but. :rip;
Let's not act like Justin wasn't singing Jodeci songs and Chaka Khan songs on The Mickey Mouse Club though. I don't ever defend him but. :rip;
These songs were picked by producers, writers, and other members of the show... not Justin. Even if he had been influenced/exposed to black music, it doesn't change the point.
It's not about ownership, it's about cultural respect. I've said this before, but that's almost like telling Native Americans that they "don't own" dreamcatchers and war bonnets (Indian headdresses).
So many white companies like Urban Outfitters have been heavily criticized for selling mock merchandise of these cultural accessories, and most of the hipster and suburban consumers aren't even aware of the traditional meaning behind them. And while these white companies are making millions off of watering down and erasing them out of their own culture, Native Americans are living poor on reservations and not getting cent out of it.
This is why minorities are sick and tired of this kind of stuff. When Blacks try to promote their own cultural art forms, they're either rejected as "ghetto" and "dangerous" and not given the respect in the mainstream, but when a white person copies and does the SAME thing, suddenly it's marketable.
There's not really any cultural respect when it comes to music. Physical objects can be misused yes, but music is for ALL.
Bruno Mars has some black ancestry somewhere I am sure. His parents come from Puerto Rico which is a very ethnically diverse country, a lot of people there have black, native and European ancestry. One can be black and Latino at the same time.
With that said I am tired of this appropriating stuff. I mean it happens but in the music industry the choice of who appropriates and who doesn't is so arbitrary.
This. Bruno is doing what comes naturally to him. He grew up on R&B/Soul/Funk/Pop. He also looks black and like you said more than likely has SOME African heritage in his blood. Most people assume he is black anyway based on his looks. He also has never been disrespectful or made it seem like he was trying hard at all. I don't like him but I appreciate his talent and love for black culture and sound.
A complete disrespect to Bruno's life and career. 
