Bruno Mars has a long list of talents that include singer, songwriter, music producer, dancer, and instrumentalist. There doesn’t seem to be a genre he can’t crack, he’s been known to do doo-wop, pop, hip-hop, and more. Can Bruno Mars Rap?
Bruno Mars can’t rap, but has worked with some of the greatest rappers in the past few years, including Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Cardi B. In all of his collaborations, he sings while the others rap, creating a great harmonization.
Mars is such a musical talent that it’s only fair that he’s not good at everything, and it’s not like the rap game is lacking talent. Good for him for recognizing his strengths and sticking to them, instead of trying to cross into territory he’s not experienced with, just for commercial gain.
History of Rap
Rap, as we know it today, originated in the early 1970s at block parties, where the DJ would isolate and extend the percussion elements of a song so the MC could speak over the music, tell jokes, and keep the audience engaged.
Overtime the MC’s would rhyme and chant to the beat of the music playing, and they became the first rappers. It quickly grew to the streets, so it wasn’t only happening at block parties. Rappers would freestyle, rap the words that came to them in that moment, with no music in the background.
In the late 1970s, Kurtis Blow, became the first rapper to sign with a major record label. Then, in 1979, rap hit the mainstream when The Sugarhill Gang released “Rapper’s Delight”, peaking at number 3 on the U.S. charts, and hitting the number 1 spot on Canadian charts.
This was followed by Kurtis Blow’s song “The Breaks” being released in 1980, breaking into the Top 5 and eventually going gold.
Bruno Mars’ Style
Bruno Mars picked up his stage name, as he was born Peter Gene Hernandez, after producers kept trying to pigeon-hole him into doing Latin music, even wanting him to sing in Spanish. Not only did he change his name, but he ensured nobody would pigeon-hole him again into any one genre, so he singles in multiple genres in pop, hip hop, rock, funk, soul, reggae, and doo-wop.
Being able to cross over into different genres has led the way for Mars to sing with some of the biggest talents in the music industry today. Some of the people he has collaborated with include Damian Marley, Ed Sheeran, Chris Stapleton, The Vamps, Tyga, Lil Wayne, and Mark Ronson. And the list goes on.
He will soon be able to add Mickey Mouse to that list. Well, not exactly. But he has teamed up with Disney to produce, star, and sing in a musical-themed theatrical narrative feature. Something he appears to be over the moon about.
Not only has he sung with some of the top talent, but he’s also written a lot of songs for top talent in which he doesn’t sing on as well. He’s written for artists such as Adele, Sean Kingston, Flo Rida, and Adam Levine. Again, the list goes on.
What the Future Holds
Mars is currently working on his next album, so who knows, after so much success with other genres, maybe he will rap in the future. There’s no doubt that his star continues to shine and he doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
He’s won awards, played the SuperBowl half-time show, traveled the world, and had his dream of wanting to be a singer come to fruition, so it will be interesting to see what’s next on his list of goals. I have no doubt that whatever those goals could be, he’ll accomplish them. He seems to know what he wants and isn’t afraid to work hard to get it.