Well, it happened. No, not the election. I am talking about the comeback of Bruno Mars with his album 24K Magic. After four years of waiting, fans can finally listen to what he has been excitedly working on since the release of his sophomore album Unorthodox Jukebox. I am one of those fans, and my friends can attest to this: I was beyond ecstatic about the album release. While I was initially upset that there were only going to be nine tracks, listening to the album you learn that every song is a winner. So, no complaints there.
Bruno Mars' latest musical endeavour with 24K Magic transports listeners back to a era of '80s funk and '90s R&B. About a month ago, I wrote about the reemergence of the aesthetics from the 1980s, including Bruno Mars' single "24K Magic." As I mentioned in that article, the single draws from many musical influences, such as Zapp and Roger's vocoder (the first connection I made to Bruno's retro style), lyrics filled with the same passion as a Michael Jackson slow jam and the beat reminiscent of a Grandmaster Flash song. The similarities in their musicality is uncanny, as seen in this "24K Magic" and "The Message" mashup.
The rest of album gives the same vibe as its single, feeding us with catchy and awe-inspiring synths as well as retro keyboard ballads that remind me of those serious moments of Full House where the show gives us a moral lesson. But in this album, Bruno just wants us to have a good time, to feel good. In an interview with Colorado radio station Y96.9, Bruno hopes that listeners feel the same way he did when he wrote "24K Magic" saying, "I want them to feel themselves, and feel as fabulous as I did when I wrote it." You can hear the years of work Bruno put into 24K Magic, and I'm happy to see that Bruno found his musical mojo in retro style funk and R&B.
Personally, there isn't a single song I dislike from the album, and listening to the tracks brought me back to a 10 year old me, who was just transitioning out of Disney Channel radio and into, well, actual radio stations. It brought me back to 17 year old me, who was learning about Zapp and Roger and what a vocoder even was. When I hear "Finesse," one of the tracks in the album, I immediately think of "Every Little Step" by Bobby Brown, a song I used to listen to a lot in middle school where my love an admiration for '80s music developed.
While I may not have grown up with these artists from which he draws inspiration such as Zapp and Roger, Bobby Brown, Sugar Hill Gang and Grandmaster Flash, 24K Magic gives younger listeners such as myself a mere glimpse into retro funk and R&B.
So keep being funky, Bruno, you hooligan.
