There’s something so sweet about seeing a homegrown SoCal talent be fully embraced by music fans all over the world. This is especially true when it comes to Anderson .Paak. The Oxnard native grew up as a church percussionist and eventually parlayed those skills into making his own music as a singer, songwriter, and rapper… while always holding it down on the drums. If you’ve seen him live, you’ve definitely seen him doing his thing behind the kit while singing and rapping the whole time.
Anderson .Paak has become a consummate collaborator: Bruno Mars (Silk Sonic), Knxwledge (NxWorries), Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, and Gwen Stefani are just a few of the major players that have made their way into his rolodex. The eight time Grammy-winner also founded the record label APESHIT, has a feature film directorial debut called K-POPS premiering at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, and is building an equally impressive resume via his DJ alter-ego DJ Pee .Wee.
No question about it, Anderson .Paak has blown all the way up in the years since he was named KCRW’s breakthrough artist of 2016. But we’re taking it back even further than that with today’s guest DJ set. Novena and Anderson have known each other since the latter’s days performing under the moniker of Breezy Lovejoy.
Ahead of making his Hollywood Bowl Debut on Tuesday, September 24th — performing the entirety of his game-changing 2016 album Malibu, along with his longtime backing band the Free Nationals, and Color of Noize Orchestra — Anderson is here to reflect on his whole life story: from being “raised by TV,” to first encountering his Silk Sonic bandmate Bruno Mars while playing bar gigs, to geeking out over his musical peer Thundercat’s wide ranging style, talent, and interests in general. Click that player button on this page to get right into the goods, and scroll on for .Paak’s selects.
Jesse Frederick – “As Days Go By”
Thundercat – “Is It Love?”