The Beginning of Silk Sonic

By Paris Foster
Music Journalist

During the 63rd annual Grammy award ceremonies, the world was given a sample of the new R&B super-mega-ultra group that is, Silk Sonic. Fronted by maestros Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak, Silk Sonic arose through the duo’s growing friendship during Mars’ 24k Magic Tour back in 2017.

Paak opened for the tour, and the couple quickly sported chemistry due to their similar tastes in music and swagged out styles. To music fans, this marrying of modern funk giants is a source of fresh excitement amidst the majority of stale acts showcased throughout the Grammy weekend.

Interestingly, Mars and Paak were initially left off the Grammy performers list. After some social media rallying, the duo got the Academy’s attention by a Mars tweet pleading the Grammys to “give a couple out of work musicians a promotion.” Of course, both Paak and Mars are world-renowned musicians, in no need of a break, which adds to the hilarity of their somewhat off-kilter presence at the award show.

Also, what makes Silk Sonic so funny and enticing is their satirically retro, 70’s vulgar vibe, which again, contrasts against the more serious, “too cool for school” artists who made up the rest of the Grammy performances.

Silk Sonic is set to release an album, An Evening with Silk Sonic, at an unspecified date. In the meantime, they have released a single, “Leave the Door Open” which has already hit 59 million views as of March 7th.

Anthony Fantano, a YouTube musical guru, describes the single as cinematic and charismatic, which is a perfect summation of the sounds made during those four minutes and two seconds. Adding to all the Silk Sonic hype is the legendary presence of Funkadelic-Parliament bassist, Bootsy Collins.

Collins is serving as the “host” of the album and supposedly guiding the listener through the tracklist of An Evening with Silk Sonic. Additionally, Mars revealed in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, that Bootsy gave the duo their majestic moniker, Silk Sonic, which is just overflowing with 70’s funk swagger.

In this day and age, the music industry lacks artists such as Silk Sonic, who brings music back to genuine fronts. Adding to that, Mars explains in an interview with the podcast team, The Breakfast Club, that creating music in the duo is just like being a kid in a garage band again, where ideas are bounced off band members and refined into a soulful product.

With all that being said, hopefully, Silk Sonic can bring about a wave of new music that comes from the heart and soul with their much-anticipated album, An Evening with Silk Sonic.

Featured Image by Silk Sonic