Finesse

The harmonic language of 'Finesse' is deliberately bare: one or two chords sustaining a groove while rhythm and timbre carry the arrangement. This sparseness is genre-correct for New Jack Swing, where the drum machine pattern and stacked synth textures perform the emotional work that harmony does in other styles. There are no unexpected modulations or borrowed chords; the song's sophistication lives entirely in the production layer rather than the chord sheet, which is precisely the aesthetic point.

Written by ten contributors — Bruno Mars, Cardi B, Philip Lawrence, James Fauntleroy, Klenord Raphael, Ray Romulus, Jonathan Yip, Brody Brown, Jeremy Reeves, and Ra Charm — 'Finesse' was built around a deliberate New Jack Swing framework: the same syncopated drum machine rhythms, layered synths, and call-and-response vocal phrasing that defined Bobby Brown, Guy, and Bell Biv DeVoe in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The large writer count reflects the collaborative studio model Bruno Mars applied across the entire 24K Magic album, with contributors from multiple production camps converging on a single sonic target.

'Finesse' channels Bobby Brown–era early-90s New Jack Swing through crisp production from The Stereotypes and Shampoo Press & Curl on Bruno Mars's 2016 Atlantic album 24K Magic. A ten-writer collaboration brought in voices from multiple production camps — Philip Lawrence, James Fauntleroy, Cardi B, and more — to lock down one unified retro-funk vision. The 2018 remix featuring Cardi B, paired with an In Living Color–tribute video, earned the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 61st Grammy Awards.