Mario feels that, ultimately, in terms of who possesses the most overall skill, he should be considered the real “King of R&B.” Back in 2018, Jacquees started a dialogue over who the King of R&B truly is when he nominated himself, a point that many folks disagreed with. Since then, it’s been a topic of heavy debate, and it seems we have yet to settle on one clear, undeniable winner. However, Mario seems to think that, if the conversation is focused on who has the most talent, without taking any other factors such as popularity in the music scene or the actual amount of music an artist has made into consideration, he is the indisputable king.

Mario Crowns Himself "King Of R&B"Roger Kisby/Getty Images

Mario spoke to WGCI Chicago’s Frankie Robinson over Instagram live recently, where she asked him about this lingering debate. “It’s just ridiculous,” he responds, before going into his reasoning for nominating himself.

“If we really talking about just straight, pure skill,” he continued. “We not talking about relevance, we not talking about who puts out 100 songs a year–we talking about, ‘N*gga give me a mic, you get a mic.’ If we just talking about that, there’s nobody f*cking with me. I promise you. On everything, I put that on my grave.”

Mario Crowns Himself "King Of R&B"Michael Buckner/Getty Images

“I just got too much flavour,” he went on to say. “I got too much sauce. Go listen to my albums. If you hear this new music, I think it’s going to show you. But like, there’s nothing that I can’t do as a writer, as a performer. I’m a quadruple threat.”

Do you agree with Mario? Who is the real King of R&B?