You may have never heard the name Anderson .Paak, but you’ve most likely seen him or heard his music. From his 2021 collaboration with Bruno Mars in “An Evening with Silk Sonic”, to his appearance in the 2022 Super Bowl alongside Dr. Dre and Eminem.
Anderson .Paak has an extensive career, mainly centered around his music, such as the 2012 Grammy nominated album “Malibu” and frequent collaborations with Knxwledge. He also has a broad range of talents including film making and djing, which he intends to move towards more in the future.
.Paak came from humble beginnings, facing many hardships throughout his childhood and early adulthood. Both of his parents, who had immigrated from Korea, were in and out of jail when he was young. He also struggled with homelessness prior to his music career. Despite the circumstances, .Paak was able to turn towards music, working as a drum teacher’s assistant and beginning his own music project. Under the name “Breezy Lovejoy”, .Paak released two albums in 2012. He also released an EP during this time in which he covered many classic rock songs in R&B, jazz, and hip hop styles. This EP, “Cover Art” was made to reflect how many white musicians have covered songs by black artists without giving credit.
In the following two years, .Paak left Breezy behind and assumed his current name, “Anderson .Paak” (the dot standing for “detail”). Under his current name, .Paak released his next album “Venice”. With his accumulation of released music, he gained traction and attracted the attention of Dr. Dre, who took him under his wing as a protégé. This companionship between the two
artists led Anderson .Paak to feature in six songs on Dre’s “Compton”.
From here, .Paak took off, releasing more music, collaborating with more artists, and acquiring many Grammy nominations. Anderson .Paak has an impressive lineup of artists that have featured on his music including Snoop Dogg, J. Cole, Q-tip, and Kendrick Lamar.
After 4 successful independent albums under his current name, .Paak has expanded into large collaborations with other artists, exploring new genres and stylization of music.
Throughout his entire discography, Anderson .Paak explores many different topics, telling narratives and sharing his own personal life stories through lyrics. His music is also very percussion heavy, displaying his impressive talent for drumming. Between his beautifully controlled vocals, exciting features, well crafted beats, and talent, Anderson .Paak’s music is a mesmerizing experience.
If you’d like to get into his music, I highly recommend listening to his albums “Malibu” and “Oxnard”. Both albums are heavily stylized to reflect the city it has been named after. They do a great job of displaying two very different ends of .Paak’s talent. Also, “An Evening with Silk Sonic” is an incredible musical performance that is definitely worth a listen. If you’re interested in a showcase of .Paak’s talent, I also recommend watching his Tiny Desk Concert, which is highly regarded as one of the best Tiny Desk Concerts!
