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The Ascension of Anderson .Paak
Refracting Sound maps the trajectory of Oxnard’s greatest export
Anderson .Paak with friends Elmo and Cookie Monster
Brandon Paak Anderson was born in Oxnard, California to an African-American father and mixed race (Korean and African-American) mother. When Brandon was seven years old, his father went to jail for fourteen years for assaulting his mother. He began playing drums, singing and producing music in high school, the same time his mother and stepfather both went to jail for seven years for fraud. Brandon evolved into a chubby kid who went by the moniker “Breezy Lovejoy” (a name inspired by his farts… I’m not kidding), inspired by punk bands like Black Flag and Dr. Know as documented in his 2016 Nardwuar interview. Soon afterwards, he became “Anderson .Paak” and began working more seriously on his solo music career.
In 2014, he released his first album as Anderson .Paak, “Venice”. While it hinted at his greatness, Venice is mostly electronica-influenced party music, competent and great at points, but stylistically unfocused and kinda all over the place, to be honest. His soulful, raspy, emotive voice still cut through and garnished him attention both locally and worldwide. .Paak successfully got on the radar of NWA alumnus and hip hop legend Dr. Dre, who admired the young upstart artists’ talent and drive enough to prominently feature him on six tracks on Dr. Dre’s long-awaited “Compton” album, including the noteworthy cut “Animals” produced by DJ Premier.
.Paak officially signed to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath roster, but was contractually obligated to produce one more album on his old independent label. Released a year and a half later, “Malibu” came out in 2016, with beats/production by an impressive roster of underground rap beatsmiths: 9th Wonder, Hi Tek, Madlib and more. The project had a fresh new sound, infused with the spirit of hip hop and live instrumentation with .Paak revealing more honesty and introspection as shown by soul-baring tracks like “The Season/Carry Me” and “Without You” featuring Rapsody. Anderson sang and rapped with a post-Kendrick Lamar flair, bouncing, flipping and pirouetting syllables nimbly over the organic-sounding beats. The growth was undeniable. He had naturally and successfully fused hip hop into his style and fans got to see a lot more of who Anderson .Paak really is. Malibu ended up earning a Grammy nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album. I remember trying to go see him at the Fillmore in San Francisco around this time and, not only was there a line around the block, there was gridlocked traffic in a three block radius around the venue. Lyrically, the project was raw and bold, as displayed by the autobiographical “The Season/Carry Me”:
“Your mother’s in prison, your father needs a new kidney,
Your family’s splitting, rivalry between siblings…
When I look at my tree, I see leaves missing,
Generations of harsh living and addiction…”
In 2016, he also released another full length “Yes Lawd” under the name “Nx Worries”, his collaborative project with producer Knxwledge. Rife with attitude and 70s soul samples, the production sounded like underground hip hop ala’ classic-era Kanye West and J. Dilla. The nineteen track album has numerous songs which hover around the two minute mark, making it seem like snippets, demos or ideas not fully fleshed out. While maybe lacking in fully realized songs, it’s more like a “vibe”, with the highlight being the Gil Scott Heron-sampled “Suede”.
2018 brought “Oxnard”, executive produced by Dr. Dre and peppered with a who’s who list of dream rap features (Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Q Tip, Snoop Dogg and more). While sonically great, the album lacks cohesion and the whole doesn’t really add up to the sum of the parts, sounding forced in places. Still, there are standouts like the 70s funk-influenced, Death Row-era sounding “Anywhere” featuring Snoop Dogg and the single “Tints” with Kendrick Lamar, but some of the tracks simply hang in the ether. “Oxnard” is infused with the spirit of Dr. Dre, which ordinarily would be the Midas Touch as he had previously ignited the careers of Snoop Dogg, Enimem, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar, The Game and more, but here it didn’t really gel 100%, like a square peg in a round hole.
Released only 6 months after Oxnard, 2019’s “Ventura” seemed kinda like a “save” for AP’s trajectory, where Dr. Dre loosened the reins a bit and Anderson was apparently allowed more creative control. This project is all the better for it. With some songwriting help from Bruno Mars, .Paak collaborated with Andre 3000, Smokey Robinson, Brandy and more. With a smoother, more cohesive and consistent R&B sound, the material was more catchy, engaging and more personal again, with AP singing primarily about affairs of the heart. Highlights are “Jet Black” with the long unheard from Brandy and “What Can We Do?” featuring posthumous vocals by Nate Dogg. Ventura was a career high point for Paak, garnishing a Grammy for Best R&B Album.
Silk Sonic (Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars) with spirit guide/muse Bootsy Collins
In 2021, Anderson .Paak formed a duo with international superstar Bruno Mars called “Silk Sonic” and released a collaboration album called “An Evening with Silk Sonic”. Mars had forged from some of the same musical/inspirational mines as .Paak, albeit on a more mainstream, popular level. Mars’ high octane funk jams are derivative but fun (see “24 Karat Magic”) and, although both artists were on different career plateaus, the collaboration made sense. “An Evening with…” is a fun-filled 80s R&B/Soul romp, polished with sheen, infused with humor, tongue firmly in cheek. The songs on “An Evening with…” build and swell to glistening sonic crescendos, with .Paak and Mars adeptly trading off vocals. Like both artists’ prior material, they wore their influences on their sleeves and revealed an appreciation for the artists who came before them, but also injected some levity and fun into the mix.
So what’s next for Anderson .Paak? Apparently he’s working on another album with Knxwledge as Nx Worries, releasing a couple tracks over the last year or so. “Daydreaming” is a slow, pensive, brooding R&B cut, rife with morose tension; it’s an interesting track considering .Paak just filed for divorce from his wife of 13 years. The other song, ”Where I Go” featuring H.E.R., is a competent slab of throwback R&B, but ultimately unremarkable considering some of AP’s previous career highs. Still, Anderson .Paak is immensely talented and I look forward to his next offering.