IN CONVERSATION WITH MARIO

interview by JANA LETONJA

GRAMMY-nominated, platinum-selling R&B hitmaker Mario, whose unmistakable voice and timeless songs have defined a generation, has built a legacy of chart-topping hits, acclaimed albums, and unforgettable performances from his early breakout with ‘Just A Friend’ to the nine-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit ‘Let Me Love You’. Beyond music, he’s made his mark on screen in ‘Step Up’, ‘Freedom Writers’, and ‘Empire’, and launched his own label and production company, New Citizen. With new single, ‘Nobody But Us’, which just came out, and an upcoming ‘Nothing But Us’ tour, Mario is stepping into an exciting new chapter of both his career and his life.

glasses YVES SAINT LAURENT
jacket FERRAGAMO
gloves stylist’s own

‘Glad You Came’ marked your first solo album in six years. What did this project represent for you at this stage in your career?

Thinking back about that album, I've always recorded songs, I've always recorded music. I'm always in a studio working and I could put out 1.000 songs for my fans or more, but sometimes putting out a body of work at a specific time is kind of like allowing your fans to see where you are. Even if you haven't put out music in a long time, ‘Glad You Came’ represented a warm up to this new era of Mario. I've grown with my fans for years. I've been in the game for 24 years, so this album was important for me to show fans where I was musically and experimenting to keep R&B at the forefront of people's ears. It's such a unique genre of music, and I feel like there's been so many avenues of R&B that I've touched on over my career. I partnered with James Fauntleroy, who executive produced and wrote a lot of songs with me on that album, and we've been talking about working and preserving the art form of R&B for a long time, so really it just represents the preservation of R&B and the preservation of me and my connection with my fans.

full look YVES SAINT LAURENT

The album has a classic yet evolved Mario sound. How did you strike that balance between honoring your roots and pushing forward?

I think a lot of it is just intention, communication and who we decided to call in creatively. So, a lot of the people I work with on the album, from a production standpoint, were friends of mine that I just respect musically. We added different vibes towards the end of the album with records like ’Mantra’. It's really just communication and everybody being on the same page in terms of texture. Through and through with this album, it's very metaphoric, but also very dreamy. And most of it is about intimacy and love and confidence and finding a way to make all of that feel. It's like a good marriage.

From ‘Just A Friend’ to ‘Let Me Love You’, you’ve given us some of R&B’s most enduring tracks. How do you keep your music feeling timeless?

I'm the glue for that. I grew up listening to so many great artists, from Marvin Gaye to Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, and gospel music and classical music. My grandfather was a huge jazz fan, so I think if you were to open me up and take my DNA out and put it across the board, you would see a plethora of different types of music that were all authentically timeless. Just taking that and then adding a more modern twist on it is what you have in me. I'm a jukebox of different types of music, and even if I was to sit down with a pianist and just sing with them, we could go from classical music to R&B to soul. And I think that's something that's just been instilled to me from a young age, so I have my grandparents and my mother to thank for that.

You’ve been recognized on Billboard’s ‘Artist of the Decade’ list and nominated for multiple GRAMMYs. What do those milestones mean to you now compared to when they first happened?

I think it just keeps the bar high for me, honestly, to continue to push myself creatively, and to challenge myself as I release new music to never stay complacent. To know the importance of making timeless music is also to set the bar for generations to come, just as other artists set the bar for us. For me, it's just motivation. I think having those accolades keeps me from the comparisons, and lets me know that your originality is the key, and authenticity is the key mixed with timelessness. Like, not to try to compete with other people. You're competing with yourself and you're competing with greatness, period. If it's not as great as what you loved when you grew up, and the songs that gave you goosebumps and gave you chills, and make you want to sing it all the time, then maybe that's not something you want to give to the world.

You’ve starred in films like ‘Step Up’ and ‘Freedom Writers’ and shows like ‘Empire’. How has acting influenced your approach to storytelling in music?

It absolutely had an impact. I think imagination is one of the key ingredients to creating music. You have to have a big imagination, but you have to also know how to ground your imagination so people can relate to it. But I think being creative and being imaginative is the key. When you're acting, you have to be present and you got to find that world where you create your character's energy and bring it through yourself. And so I think it's the same thing with writing music. Sometimes I'll write a verse and then I may not have the next hook, or I may not have the second verse, and then I leave the studio, go get something to eat and come back and I'll be sitting down and it just comes to me. So I think that's very similar to acting. You could do a scene and the camera's on you. And then when the camera turns around, you could be doing one of your best scenes and then the camera's not even on you. It's just finding those spaces where you can be great and free in those in the moment.

top, trousers and glasses YVES SAINT LAURENT
loafers BOTTEGA VENETA

We’ve also been able to watch you on 12th season of ‘The Masked Singer’. How has that experience been like for you, and what did you enjoy the most about it?

That's probably the closest I've ever come to being in a Marvel movie. And it was really cool. It took me back to being a kid and dressing up. And again, going back to imagination and being free. The Wasp costume, I don't know if I’d have picked a better costume than what they chose for me. And it was kind of collaborative effort. I wanted to do something that had a story to it. Being able to sing and jump through different genres of music, but some people not knowing that it was me, it allowed me to really see how powerful music was, and how powerful my gift was. It was really cool to have that experience. I felt like in my own world, even though I was in front of the world. It was really freeing in a way because I was able to really take chances and take risks without people judging it. It gave me a chance to show people that I can do a lot of things.

You started singing as a kid in Baltimore and ended up performing around the world. When you look back, what’s the moment that feels like your true “I made it” moment?

This is going to sound crazy, but I grew up singing in church and at my little cousins’ big birthday parties and family stuff. But the moment I felt like I made it was when I did a talent show at my elementary school and all my family came. My grandmother was like my best friend. She had never seen me perform before and here, she was in the front row like a fan. For me, that made me feel like a star because she was one of my biggest supporters. I was singing like a R&B love song and for her to see that, I think for me in that moment it was like “Wow, I can do this.” 

But beyond that, I would say the moment I felt like it was off to the races as far as being a star was at Clive Davis pre-Grammy party when I was 14. Every year, the room is full of the biggest names in the world, from sports to acting to directors, designer, everybody, everybody goes. And I was able to perform to that at 14 years old. I remember looking down and seeing Beyonce and Jay-Z in the front row, and I turned around and guess who was on the piano? Stevie Wonder. He popped out of nowhere. He came and they surprised me because he was one of my favorite artists. That was a defining moment for me in terms of being in a room with some of the greats and being able to perform in front of them.

vest BOTTEGA VENETA
scarf stylist’s own
gloves ERNEST W. BAKER

Out of all your songs, which one holds the most special place in your heart, and why?

I think that I have to always go back to ‘Let Me Love You’ because it's the song that no matter where I've gone in the world, it pulled the whole audience together. You may go to a show and perform and people have their personal favorites, but when everybody loves the same song, you see something special happen in the audience. You see people holding and hugging each other. You see couples kissing and dancing together. It's just amazing what great music does. And I think I have to always go to those moments because it has less to do with me and more to do with the connection that it brings people together.

How does it feel being recognized not only by your fans, but also by your peers in the industry and younger artists that are looking up to you?

It feels great because I'm able to keep the story going. I recently did a remix to Kehlani’s ‘Folded’, and the fans went crazy for it. It is beautiful to see generations being connected through the gift of music and through song. Me and Kehlani talk about it all the time, the power of music and the power of R&B, and being like champions for R&B because it's not a whole lot of R&B artists that get the chance to do it and make noise with it. So, when you are one of the few who are able to stand on it and represent it, it's amazing because you're able to introduce it to a lot of the younger people that are growing up now in the streaming age and the age of the internet and digital. 

shirt and trousers MAISON MARGIELA
sneakers PRADA

What keeps you inspired today when creating new music, and how important do you think it is for musicians to be in touch with culturally relevant moments when creating new music?

I do a lot of other business stuff outside of music. And no matter what business I've invested in, or what business partners I have, if they don't know who I am, when they hear that that's my song and realize someone close to them loves it, it inspires me because it shows me how powerful music is, and how it opens the door for me to do so many other things in the world. So, I'm not just excited about having success in music, I'm excited about the other opportunities that it opens up and how it attracts all the worlds. To be able to have the world at your hands, it just makes your opportunities in life unlimited.

When you’re not making music, how do you like to spend your time recharging?

Nature is one of my favorite things. I love to take trips. I love to travel to different places, whether it be by the water or whether it be in the desert. I also love sports. I'm a football fan over basketball, but I love both, honestly. I spend a lot of time with my girl and with my three dogs. They keep me busy. And then again, I spend a lot of time on other businesses and stuff I'm working on outside of music. I try to just keep it well balanced.

Now that just released your newest single ‘Nobody But Us’, what is coming up next for you? 

Well, I've been in the studio working on some incredible R&B music, so it really kind of touches on a lot of what we've talking about. I think that this music is less fantasy as ‘Glad you Came’. It is very direct, intimate, cool R&B that is more traditional, but also fresh and modern. And I feel like it's conversations that no one's having right now on the music that I'm making, so I'm excited to release it. This fall and winter, I am also going on ‘Nothing But Us’ tour around US. This is something that I've been wanting to do for a while, but we were waiting  on the right timing for it.

I'm priding myself on making timeless music that's going to make people understand that authenticity is what makes the world go round. We got to keep bringing new music, bringing new vibes, bringing new perspectives. I don't think I'm perfect. I make my mistakes. I put it into music. I'm able to use music as therapy in a way because sometimes it's hard to explain everything. And if you're a person like me where you need time to process things, music is the perfect place to do it. So this upcoming music represents that. 

TEAM CREDITS:

talent MARIO
photography BENJO ARWAS
styling ANASTASIA WALKER
hair and makeup REMY MOORE at The Only Agency
photography assistant JOSH HAMMAREN
editor TIMOTEJ LETONJA
editorial director and interview JANA LETONJA
cover design ARTHUR ROELOFFZEN