Some people fold under pressure, others use adversity as a springboard toward greatness. For a young artist Anderson .Paak out of Oxnard, California the only option was opportunity. Looking back at it now, this man grew from a broken home. The beautiful part about it was that through all of the domestic abuse that stemmed from his father’s substance abuse – Paak’s mother never led on to the difficulties she dealt with.

Many people love to complain and use their children as pawns in domestic affairs but this woman was above that and always acted in the best interest of her children. Once his father went away to prison, Paak never saw him again until he was placed into a pine box.

As a youngster, Anderson was encouraged to pursue music through the Church. He became a consistent church goer and observantly waited his turn until he was a proficient drummer in the choir at the age of eleven.

Eventually, he would go on to teach at a music school where he made several lasting connections. As a consistent musical connoisseur throughout his lifetime, this artist always had rhythm in his soul. It was just a matter of time until the Lord would direct him to his ultimate destiny.

Similar Struggle

In the meantime, .Paak worked several odd jobs and made his way onto a marijuana farm in Santa Barbara. While tending to cannabis crops, he would make $150 per hour. He received a very fortuitous bounce by keeping this job for several months but was eventually let go for taking more product than was typically allotted for employees. After losing his job on the farm, he became homeless and things began to look bleak.

Luckily, a friend he had met from music school, Shafiq Husayn took a chance on Paak and hired him to work on his talent team. As an assistant, he played the role of videographer, editor, writer and producer for the group Sa Ra. This development was the first step of many for a soulful West Coast artist to blossom. 

While this was going on, Paak’s mother – who was brought into Compton early on to flee the Korean war – was going through trials and tribulations of her own. As a single mother of two children she had no other option but to make ends meet.

There were countless up and down swings throughout life but none sweeter than when Anderson’s mom worked at a strawberry farm. While tending to the produce sector, she made a very lucrative living for her and her family.

Unfortunately, that style of living was not permanent and she would eventually have to file for bankruptcy. While in delinquent financial status, she was paying back on her debts through a healthy gambling habit.

She did very well in the casinos and would go on to earn thousands from well-educated strategies.

Little did she know, the government was watching her every move and while she was able to pay off debts to certain individuals

she was not making amends with everyone she owed.

Not reporting her winnings properly led to a 14 year sentence in prison, 7 years of which she served. She is now out, healthy and working with the elderly.

Blessings in Disguise

Never one to let misfortune stunt his growth, .Paak always handled these types of situations in an opposite manner by channeling it into inspiration. While working as an assistant for Shafiq Husayn, he had many chances to utilize studio access. That is exactly what he did but under the alias of Breezy Lovejoy.

He recorded three studio albums under that moniker and would also go on tour as a drummer for former American Idol contestant – Haley Reinhart. Clearly, this man paid his dues and made many sacrifices in order to build his portfolio and create important connections in order to learn the ropes which led him to thrive within the music industry.

Paak really got his break when he began to work with Dr. Dre. Born Brandon Paak Anderson, he decided to ditch the Breezy Lovejoy nickname and introduced himself to Andre Young as Anderson .Paak.

The period before his name symbolizes the attention-to-detail, time spent on his craft and stylistic incubation associated with his presence. Dr. Dre did not hear his song, “Suede” until they were in studio together and thankfully he liked it. From there, Paak went on to freestyle for Dre and they collaboratively clicked. Anderson. Paak was apart of six songs on Dr. Dre’s, “Compton” which was the first album he had released in sixteen years. 

Working with the legendary Dr. Dre gave .Paak a major boost in notoriety and also helped to elevate his musical persona. As an enthusiastic raconteur, this man is comfortable with himself and it is evident that he accepted the terms of God’s blueprint because he gradually came into well-earned success and fortune.

It is apparent that he realizes that nothing is permanent and never settles, becomes comfortable or complacent. He considers his songs brief lessons on music history and imparts wisdom in many forms of aural entertainment. He is constantly searching for sound intensity via harmonic exploration.

With a distinctive warm and raspy voice he discovers pockets of intensity that harkens back to iconic voices of the seventies. He pours out the honesty of the blues, the efficacy of pop and the priority to rhythm mentality of funk. 

High Octane Force

Elegant soul arrangements, nimble fusions and gritty funk yieldED dream actualization for this Cali cat. His enthusiasm is flashy, funky and soul-stirring. His personality is vivacious, lush and psychedelic.

As a succint, self-aware standout he attacks music with hippy tints, extravagance, rousing energy and intricate spontaneity. His cosmic relationship with time displays patience, understanding, boldness and showmanship.

His stage presence is incredibly mesmerizing. Within his songs, he takes his time to express stories with great detail and rich plot twists. While under the bright lights, he provides endless performances and is extremely productive in regards to time by not wasting any to jump straight into high energy mode.

He consistently exudes confidence, ferocity and euphoric fervour. As a virtuosic musical acrobat he shows tremendous synthesis and melds his sonics together effortlessly. His punchy, sizzling basslines characterize versatility and stellar staccato bounce. All in all, he is an exciting artist filled with merit and an experimentative nature that will always test the limits.

Today, he is signed to Aftermath Entertainment which is a subsidiary of 12 Tone Music Group which is backed by Apple. .Paak also exists as apart of the Free Nationals band and they perform around the world regularly.

His “Bubblin’” single won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance and many of his songs have been licensed for movies and commercials. He is much more than just a musical vessel, though. He uses his platform as a vehicle to effectuate change.

The .Paak House uplifts, engages and supports disenfranchised and underprivileged youth through cultivated alliances with nonprofit organizations. It is astoundingly vivid that Anderson .Paak has taken the worst of what was given to him and completely transformed that into glorious magnificence.