What Has Bruno Mars Said About His Race And Mixed Identity?

The Treasure singer is one of the best-selling artists of all time. As proof of it, Bruno Mars spent the majority of 2018 on his sold-out 24k Magic World Tour. Billboard named the singer’s tour the fourth highest-grossing of 2018, tallying more than $237 million for 100 shows. Thanks to this, Mars has amassed a net worth of $175 million, and he knows how to spend it. Mars was brought up in a musical household and began appearing on stage with his family when he was four. They performed music from genres such as R&B and Motown.

Mars became known for his Elvis Presley imitations. In fact, the young artist even showed off his skills during a brief scene in the 1992 Hollywood film Honeymoon in Vegas. After turning 18, he moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue his entertainment dreams. Now that Bruno Mars is a music star, some people claim the artist is profiting off Black culture, and that he is a “culture thief.” Since his nationality is not clear for everyone, here is everything about Bruno Mars’ origins and his mixed identity.

What Is Bruno Mars’ Nationality?

Bruno Mars was born Peter Gene Hernandez in Honolulu, Hawaii. The artist is of Puerto Rican and Filipino descent, and he was one of six children. His nickname as a child was Bruno because he was a chubby kid and reminded his father of the wrestler Bruno Sammartino. Young Peter grew up in a very musical family. His father, Peter Hernandez, was a Latin percussionist from Brooklyn, and his mother, Bernadette, was a singer and hula dancer. She emigrated from the Philippines to Hawaii and had Filipino and Spanish roots. Meanwhile, the singer’s father is half Puerto Rican and half Ashkenazi Jewish descent (from Ukraine and Hungary). As a result, although Bruno Mars’ nationality is American, in reality, he is mixed-race.

The family would perform as the Love Notes for Hawaiian tourists. Living in Waikiki Beach, the future star and his family would perform Las Vegas-style shows for people. Their acts included Motown hits, doo-wop melodies, and celebrity impersonations. Young Bruno joined the family band at the age of four and was coined the world’s youngest Elvis Presley’s impersonator, a gig that would earn him recognition far beyond Honolulu.

Is Bruno Mars Guilty Of Cultural Appropriation?

There is a huge debate on Twitter about Bruno Mars being a culture appropriator. This whole discussion was started by The Grapevine, a show that reunites a group of young black intellectual individuals who have conversations on specific subjects. This time, their debate about Bruno Mars broke the internet. However, many agree that the singer is not a culture vulture. There’s a big difference between appreciation and appropriation. Appropriators are people who take from a culture for their own benefit without giving credit or respect to its originators.

Meanwhile, Bruno Mars has been vocal about how black music has inspired him. When he won a Grammy for Album of the Year, he gave props to those who inspired his 24K Magic album. The artist said, “I’m 15 years old, and I’m opening up a show in Hawaii called the Magic of Polynesia. Later on, in life, I found out that those songs that I was singing were written by either, Babyface, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, or Teddy Riley.”

Bruno Mars Music Video

Fans agree that there’s nothing wrong with Bruno being inspired by the people of the past and recreating sounds. According to Billboard, the singer said in an interview with Latina Magazine: “When you say ‘black music,’ understand that you are talking about rock, jazz, R&B, reggae, funk, doo-wop, hip-hop, and Motown. Black people created it all. Being Puerto Rican, even salsa music stems back to the Motherland [Africa]. So, in my world, black music means everything. It’s what gives America its swag.”

What Bruno Mars Is Doing Now

The long hiatus of Bruno Mars could be interpreted either way as a long time coming because of the almost non-stop commercial success he has had, or, as a surprise because of that same success. Who would want to take the risk of losing their spot at the top of the pop music kingdom? Apparently, Bruno Mars. The artist hasn’t released a full-length solo album since 24k Magic in 2016. Meanwhile, he has kept himself busy as a sought-after collaborator.

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For instance, in February 2019, he collaborated with diva Cardi B for the hit single Please Me. As could be expected, the two celebrity singers together resulted in a single that peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. It was a success in the USA and in other English-speaking countries, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada. As recently as February 2020, Mars kept himself busy with a Disney partnership that will eventually see Mars starring and producing a kid-friendly movie. However, there are no details about the film yet. Mars’s most recent release was in March 2021 with An Evening With Silk Sonic alongside his good friend Anderson Paak. Together they won four Grammy Awards for the album.