On November 18, Bruno Mars returns with 24K Magic, his first album since 2012’s Unorthodox Jukebox. Last heard teaming up with Mark Ronson for “Uptown Funk” — a song that topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks, tying six other songs for the second-longest record — the title track finds Mars still in a funky way.

Opening with a talk-box intro reminiscent of Zapp’s Roger Troutman (voiced here by the imaginatively named Mr. TalkBox), Mars boasts like a modern-day Morris Day on “24K Magic” (especially in the second verse). There’s also a noticeable nod to the Kool & The Gang classic, “Get Down On It” (check the phrasing of “What y’all tryin’ to do?”).

Regarding the latter inspiration, what’s the over-under on whether Mars and producers The Stereotypes will have to ante up with a share of songwriting credits, as Ronson had to with The Gap Band? Theres bound to be a pile of money in the bank soon, as “24K Magic” is pure pop gold.

Stream Bruno Mars – “24K Magic” via Spotify, Apple Music.