After teasing fans for almost an entire year, Silk Sonic finally released its debut album, An Evening With Silk Sonic.
Silk Sonic, aka Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars, has been one of the most refreshing developments in recent music history. Beginning with "Leave The Door Open," and bouncing from "Skate" to "Smokin Out The Window," the .Paak/Mars collective had not missed once, and after dropping its first, full-length effort, it remains that way.
From top to bottom, An Evening With Silk Sonic is a masterclass in how to mold elements of funk and soul music with elements of modern hip hop and R&B. .Paak and Mars skate all over every single instrumental, and in classic Silk Sonic fashion, give us a ton of hilarious quotables on every record.
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According to HDD, the project is projected to move 102,000 album equivalent units in its first week. Driven by "Smokin Out The Window," which debuted at #8 on this week's Billboard Hot 100, An Evening With Silk Sonic is expected to land at #2 on the Top 200, one spot behind Taylor Swift's re-recorded version of her platinum album RED. (Swift is expected to move a lofty 570,000 album equivalents in its first week.)
In a recent interview with Beats1 radio host Ebro Darden, both .Paak and Mars acknowledged the potential success their music would have, but maintained that the purpose of Silk Sonic was to work with each other and create the best music possible.
"We just wanted it to feel like... feel special. Instead of trying to get too cute with the concept it's like, man, what's more special than Anderson Paak behind a drumset singing a song and, you know, me having his back when it's my turn, you know?," Mars said. "I felt like a large part of my career I've done collabs and everything but it felt good to be able to trust a dude to, you know, try it like this, great vocal producer, one of the greatest vocalists I've ever worked with and just pushing me to a different level," .Paak added.
While it's not looking like they'll secure a #1 debut on the Billboard Top 200, it's clear that a huge number of people are buying and streaming the album, and based on the quality of the music, that will surely continue.