Grammy winners Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak are banding together for a new project.
The ‘Treasure’ singer and the ‘Come Down’ artist announced Thursday that they have formed a band called Silk Sonic, which will release its debut single March 5. A studio album is also in the works.
“WE MADE AN ALBUM!!” .Paak, a Los Angeles-based singer, rapper, drummer and producer born Brandon Paak Anderson, wrote on social media. “YALL GET THE FIRST SONG ... ROCKET EMOJIS AND ALL THAT!!”
Mars and .Paak also unveiled artwork for their new project — a sort of retro sketch of the two hit-makers’ floating heads that reads, “An evening with Silk Sonic ... with special guest host Bootsy Collins,” teasing a collaboration with the legendary funk musician.
In 2017, .Paak opened for Mars during the massive European leg of Mars’ 24k Magic World Tour, named for his most recent album, which swept the coveted album, record and song (‘That’s What I Like’) categories at the 2018 Grammy Awards.
.Paak has also collected multiple Grammys, including R’n’B album (‘Ventura’) and R’n’B performance (‘Come Home’) at the 2020 ceremony, as well as rap performance for ‘Bubblin’ in 2019. And in 2017, he was nominated for best new artist. His latest studio album, ‘Ventura,’ came out in 2019.
Last year, .Paak joined forces with pop star Justin Timberlake for ‘Don’t Slack’ as part of the soundtrack for the hit animated film ‘Trolls World Tour.’ He headlined three additional 2020 tracks: ‘Lockdown,’ ‘Jewelz’ and ‘Cut Em In,’ featuring rapper Rick Ross. Mars hasn’t released new music since 2019’s ‘Blow,’ featuring singer-songwriters Ed Sheeran and Chris Stapleton, and ‘Please Me,’ featuring rapper Cardi B.
Earlier this month, .Paak teased his involvement in ‘Black Renaissance,’ a YouTube special spotlighting the contributions of various Black creatives in honour of Black History Month. Also featuring former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama, voting rights champion Stacey Abrams and singer-songwriter H.E.R., ‘Black Renaissance’ premiered Friday on YouTube.
