Looks photoshopped. That Swift is prolly 6'5. At least he got them pants suiting his size unlike McGrady's. And is BTW Jordan Clarkson black enough?
his recent music has definitely been less original and more about revenue, but i still respect his talent. and an artist embracing and having an affinity for "black" sounding music is nothing new, just off the top of my head -- UB40 and taylor dayne
The host lady thinks that his rise is because he is not black and the more talented black artists are being oppressed.
I am embarrassed to say I thought Bruno Mars was black. He strikes me as the music industry's attempt at reincarnating Michael Jackson.
I think she was terrible host for this discussion. The minute someone with her same point of view started talking she would begin to loudly agree. I know it’ll be nearly impossible to find a completely unbiased host but at least try to hide it to further move the conversation.
I think most of us assumed he was at least half black...and nobody really cared. He is a very talented performer, he sings, writes, plays instruments and dances. Whether he was half black, all black, or filipino apparently, people would have enjoyed his work, the same way people enjoyed Michael Jackson's work back in the 80's. There are more than enough legitimate issues in this country where black people are getting the short end of the stick without having to make s**t up.
funny thing is a lot of black youth/music/urban culture orignates from latin neighborhoods. black artists just carry it over to the mainstream.
The panel was more mad at consumers/critics than they are at Bruno mars himself, because while they want black music, they have traditionally preferred it coming from a white face.
It sounds a bit like "DEY TOOK OUR JOBS"....it's pretty clear that the ONLY thing important to most in the audience was if the artist was black or not...and if they were "black enough". They were even taking jabs at black artists who had lighter skin. When it comes to what artists make it and what artists don't, there's thousands of variables that will determine commercial success and it's not "the man" holding anyone down. It's just how it goes sometimes. The narrative by those who believe that people simply want to hear music coming from white faces kind of falls apart when you factor in situations like how a little known Dolly Parton song became one of the best selling singles ever when it was recorded by a black face (for those who want to look at it in such stupid terms). People like what they like, a lot of my favorite artists are relatively unknown and IMO considerably better than MUCH more well known artists. It doesn't mean that they were discriminated against, it just means that for any of an infinite number of reasons it didn't resonate with people as much as some of the basic b**** nonsense that garners commercial success.
Why are certain things considered sacrosanct, and you are a cultural appropriator if you adopt them, but others are not. Do black artists ever use musical notation? What about microphones? Do they record music onto electronic media? Do they write lyrics in English? When they write, do they do it using a computer, or even a ballpoint pen? What about use of chords and harmony? At what level does cultural appropriation come in, or is it just that white/European culture is okay to appropriate/cannot be appropriated. The whole concept just seems stupid to me. Make whatever music you want. If people like it and tons of other factors that you have no control over (like timing, the right person hearing it, getting retweeted by the right influencer, etc.) all come together, maybe you will make it big.
I hate Eminem but the guy has crazy talent. I'll take your Timberlake(though I wouldn't consider what he sings "black" music) and raise you T-Pain.
It's not about whether Bruno Mars is black enough or not. It's about talent. Most people in GENERAL aren't talented enough to make the music that Bruno Mars is making. I'd rather listen to Bruno Mars making good music, than a black enough person making that shitty mumble rap nonsense.
Agreed. Without the contributions of black people, we'd be listening to nothing more modern than 19th century opera and classical music, folk music, and marching bands. This conversation should have been retired in 1944 when Bob Wills brought his drummer to the Opry, when Chuck Berry played honkey-tonk music for black people, when Elvis played R&B for white people, or at the very least, when the term "race music" fell out of favor. There is not a single genre of American pop music that isn't heavily influenced by the musical traditions of black people in this country. When I lived in Tel Aviv and was interviewed by a hipster music journalist he asked me to describe my "genre" of music, which is the kind of dumb questions music journalists always ask. I said it was a fusion of Middle-Eastern instrumentation, West African drum beats, with a simple 1-4-5 progression and Anglo-Celtic lyrical tradition. "What do you call that?" he asked. "Rock 'n Roll," I said. It's a really tired trope and it needs to go back to the 1940s and die.
Without "cultural appropriation" from Africa and/or the Americas, Indians wouldn't be using chilis, mustard seed, garlic, tumeric, cardamom, or most spices we associate with the cuisine, Italians wouldn't have tomatoes or pasta, and Europe would still be eating pigeons instead of chicken and beef. This kind of advocacy-by-identity is more important than actual history for those that want to make cause, and IMHO, it's little different than religious people who reject evolution or heliocentrism and should be treated the same.
Bruno Mars isn’t black at all from what I understand. Honestly never put a whole lot of thought into him. He’s ok.
