Matt Mathias

Sports Editor

Mcm5909@psu.edu

Bruno Mars has arrived everyone. He has officially evolved into a new genre of pop funk with a smooth transition due to Anderson.Paak and Silk Sonic. Not only that, but the motivations behind his writing have also changed. Mars’s soft and heavy hitting love ballads of old are no more. The group has evolved into men who feel like they know their worth. Along with that, they have this energy totally unique to them that will define what they produce for years to come.

I have had an affliction for Bruno Mars from an early age, but as a man who knows what it is like to get taken advantage of, I was really stuck with the writing behind their song “Smokin’ out the Window”. I think it is pretty acceptable to still respect women and respect yourself as a man.

He is quoted saying, “This b*tch got me paying her rent, paying for trips,” as he describes the money he has spent on the woman he is with. The music video itself plays out like a retro television performance of the song as the guys of the group can be seen stressing out over the women in their life that make them feel this way.

However, Mars still is able to convey the heartbreak he feels from being betrayed by this woman in the chorus and in the pre-chorus. While the language used by Mars and company is stronger than typical Bruno Mars material, the emotion and mood is also highly different, which in my eyes makes it justified. By that, I mean that this song is an expression of his self-worth as a man as he tries to claim back what he feels like was taken away from him by a toxic relationship with a woman. One could argue that it is a power struggle and men should be strong without being disrespectful. However, people that say that are the same ones that attribute to the mental health of men being so poor. I say, if you have truly been wronged as a man and need to move on, I do not see a problem with Silk Sonic’s approach in the song.

Silk Sonic’s debut album, An Evening with Silk Sonic, is worth listening to as it brings new elements to pop music of today and helps to define Bruno Mars as a whole new artist.