You want the rhythm, but not the blues.

Listen, if I wasn’t Black I would damn well want to be. We just have it. We come up with these cool dances and crazy grooves and harmonies and there is just an inherent swag that cannot be duplicated, though MANY try. I'm reminded of the scene in The Five Heartbeats when their A&R person presented the album cover to the Heartbeats and it was a white family on the beach. Rightfully so, they all went off. What about the whole Cadillac Car montage from Dreamgirls. While these are fictional examples, there are millions of real-life instances where Black music and creativity has been stolen, appropriated and profited from.With that, I want to address one of my unequivocal faves and how I made peace with the direction of his sound - Bruno Mars. Sometimes the difference between appropriation and homage is a fine line, other times it is a chasm. Peter was moonwalking his Hawaiian ass all over it.I can't deny that 24K Magic BUMPS. But I was wondering how it would be executed. Bruno is a mainstream artist and has the pop cultural clout to push this “new” sound to people who are not familiar with it. This includes a younger fan base and white people. WE immediately recognize Teddy, Kenny, Jimmy AND Terry’s influence all over this record but not everybody has that ear. So I was side-eyeing Peter and watching him closely to see if he would give us the proper honor and respecK. I ain’t gon name no names but I still have qualms with a certain white boy from Memphis who was slaw in this regard. So I was like, “Awl-RIGHT, Brune!”Let me go deeper. I was listening to 24K, doing a combination of the running man and the stripper bop [drunk in love gif] but I had to pause mid-groove to think through my feelings and address this cognitive dissonance I was feeling. The dissonance was this: I am in a space in my life where I am committed to not tolerating bs in the name of art. To benefit from singing about the Black experience but stick to White spaces, especially when it benefits you the most, is problematic to me. I’m like, Peter, my guy, you can’t literally singing about "girls with the big ol’ hoops" and player hatin’ and "all the ‘Esha’s” and not really be down for the cause. If you haven’t heard 24K Magic, the album is the bomb and Bruno is an amazing entertainer, but I just need him to bring Teddy or DeBarge on the tour or SOMETHING. And ACKNOWLEDGE that this entire project is a tribute to Black music. Your whole aesthetic is straight 80’s-90s Black realness.And Peter brought it back around. In a recent interview, he eloquently honored the inevitable and obvious influence of Black music on his art:

“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]. So, in my world, black music means everything. It’s what gives America its swag. 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. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for these artists who inspired me.They have brought me so much joy and created the soundtrack to my life filled with memories that I'll never forget. Most importantly, they were the superstars that set the bar for me and showed me what it takes to sing a song that can get the whole world dancing, or give a performance that people will talk about forever. Watching them made me feel like I had to be as great as they were in order to even stand a chance in this music business. You gotta sing as if Jodeci is performing after you and dance as if Bobby Brown is coming up next.”

YES, Petey! And you DO THET! So it’s good to know that he gets it. I don’t even feel like making this about the figurative cookout we always feel the need to bring up. But now I feel like I can stan in peace and prepare my coins for this tour in September. Chrish and I will be in that HOE like it is the year of our Lord ninety hundred and ninety three. He’s wearing overalls with no shirt and a hi-top fade. Ima hit em with a blonde asymmetrical bob, an open face gold tooth, some big ass mom jeans and crop top.As a fan, stakeholder and direct beneficiary of Black creativity, I have learned that you can't hold your breath waiting for recognition, reparations, NUNNADAT. This country was built on the backs of Black people. Pop culture is built on our creativity. It's sad that that's how I think and feel, but #they prove us right every time. A trend is ghetto until the one  of the Kardashian/Jenner [K]lan wears it in Soho and suddenly it's fresh and innovative. Girl, move.

We get snubbed at literally every awards ceremony but y'all don't hesitate to have Beyoncé close the show cuz y'all know we'll suffer through blandness and mediocrity just to behold our queen's face. Sooo, we're good enough for ratings but not good enough for the actual honor that you supposedly bestow? Bet.

So like, shoutout to Bruno Mars or whatever. Go off, king.Enjoying Black art and talent is a privilege, and I can't help but serve as a gatekeeper at least in some ways cuz folk just don't be having no regard! And until y'all do right by us, everything y'all even think about gonna be wack.