Bruno Mars: A Cultural Witch Hunt

Raise the torches we have another one to blame !

I’ve talked recently about Bruno and his popular music campaign that won him Album of the year at the Grammys this year. But in that same vein he is allowed to use music in anyway he wants. Anyone is, of any color or race.

Bruno is of Filipino and Puerto Rican descent which makes this whole thing a little more elitist considering he is of mixed race.

This idea that someone can’t be inspired by Ethiopian jazz and make a song to celebrate that type of music is ridiculous.

The Grapvine panel maybe trying to justify why black people can’t get in the spotlight for something they deserve. That’s fine because they deserve it, but it’s wrong to try and vilify others who have made it to the spotlight. Not with the kind of backing and support from other black musicians that Mars gets.

A Billboard article on the subject highlights how black artists have had to shell out money for making copies of songs to the original songwriter proving that no matter what race all musicians copy other songs.

That is how you create a style and your unique form of art is to be inspired and mimic other artists.

Art is always going to be subjective, but my concern with this whole thing is that freedom of expression is getting lost in (maybe this will offend too many people). Instead of being inspired and seeing where the creation takes you.

The more people celebrate cultures and race through songs, art and media the closer we all become to each other. The discussion about Bruno Mars on the Grapevine panel was lost on me. But I can get behind more black artists having a voice. Maybe that was the point all along.