From drumming in his church band to the cool LA pop star, Anderson .Paak isn’t what you would expect a hip-hop star to be. He redefines the meaning of cool by bringing soul music in a way relevant to today’s hip-hop music.
He brings a lightness and joy to music with upbeat and positive sounding California vibes.
Blending rock, soul, r&b, hip-hop through the way in which he uses drums, synth and other musical instruments. He blurs the line between genres to bring people happy music about his own struggles he has faced.
.Paak had a humble start. He lived with his mother after his father went to jail. He became homeless after losing a job on a weed farm, and then began to pursue his music career full time.
He voices his success to the birth of his son. He states that it motivated him to get off the streets and start a life for his son that would be better than his own.
.Paak found a job by drumming on American Idol, and then got in with a producer Shafiq, Husayn. Along side this producer, .Paak produced and recorded Cover Art, an all-covers EP. The white artists of the 1950s, who became successful by remaking songs written by black blues and R&B singers, inspired Paak.
By imitating these artists of the 1950’s .Paak started to find his style within the blues and soul genre.
His voice transcends time, bringing the old soulful vibes of artists such as Curtis Mayfield.
The Game, Schoolboy Q, Talib Kweli, Rhapsody, BJ the Chicago Kid, and 9th Wonder all appear on the album Malibu, .Paak’s second solo album. Not bad for a guy who didn’t have a major record deal at the time or a single radio hit.
Malibu opens with slow drums and riffing guitar and then .Paak’s smooth, yet raspy, voice whispers “a bird with the word came to me/ the sweetness of a honey comb tree.”
On the album he describes his surroundings while staying in his own perspective. He is able to put his own observations about the world and make them relevant to his own world.
He has received several awards for his album Malibu such as the XXL Magazine “2016 Freshman Class Award” and nominated for two Grammies.
His album, Malibu, set the standard for artists. Bridging personality of soul and hip-hop beats. After 11 months it still tops charts. The collaboration album, Yes Lawd! proved his master status, and his recent world tour brought his music to masses.