No this is not a Pac impersonator, rather yet another dope artist. Anderson Paak was born in California so he is from the West Coast, but picked up a different style of music. While so many songs contain electronic or computer generated beats, Paak does otherwise. As a man of many instruments he is not only an artist but a performer as well. His music reflects that as well, it is as intricate as he is. I am not trying to compare the two at all but like the original Tupac, Anderson is original. He seems to bring out a certain vibe album after album that he creates. In a time where sometimes the beat has control over the artist, this is not the case. Anderson Paak makes the beat himself and thus takes control himself of his music. He is able to manipulate it any way he pleases and that gives him an edge over others and his is able to be 100% creative. Instead of relying on a computer to do the work or a beat maker, he is the beat maker.
Now you may be wondering why there are two names above, that’s because Paak had an alias prior to his notoriety. Known previously as Breezy Lovejoy, he dropped two projects in 2012 titled “O.B.E Vol. 1” and “Lovejoy”. This would start his career but he would not have much notoriety until a couple years later. In 2014 he started to make some noise with a single called “Drugs.
A year later more singles would come as he decided to collab with an artist names Knxwledge. Paak and Knxwledge combined create a group names NxWorries. Their singles “Link Up” and “Suede elevated Paak’s career once more and his next stride would be his biggest.
2016 would prove to be another big year for Anderson as he put out two more albums. His biggest album to date dropped titled “Malibu” is what put him over the edge. Not only are the features amazing and add tot eh project rather than take away. The music is so soulful and so good that it’s almost addicting. Songs such as “Hear Don’t Stand A Chance” are reasons why Paak is in the space he is. “The Waters” and “Come Down” are also favorites as they continue the albums funky demeanor. This album was a hit, and cemented him as a newer artists that offers something different to the industry. The NxWorries project that dropped in 2016 was unorthodox, but great nonetheless.
This leads us to Oxnard, Paak’s latest project which dropped on November 16th. Anderson does it again, just like he did it on Malibu. If you have not caught on yet there is a trend of Paak naming his albums after places in the state of California. The album comes with seemingly no single but it gives us everything we need because he is in full control. The range of the album is more than before to me. On other albums there was a sound that the would follow. On this project the artist goes outside of that and has more fun it seems with what he can do. He is a musician after all and that means nothing is impossible.
Of course this album has a funky vibe to it as Paak does better than most. That’s not all it is though, it’s a combination of sounds which includes a reggae influenced track. In “Left to Right” the drums are a faster pace and Paak sings in a Caribbean accent. Paak gives you many features as he always does, but they work to his advantage and he knows where to place them. One thing about Anderson Paak’s music is that it’s so creative people don’t know how to categorize it. It’s under both Hip-Hop, and R&B on iTunes. But if you ask people like me they will tell you it’s funk. No matter what genre it is in, the music is still amazing and he gets the job done. If you want an album that is different from the similar sounds this is it. Put on your headphones and enjoy the instrumentals as you will never be dissappointed.
STANDOUT TRACKS
- “TINTS” (featuring Kendrick Lamar)
- “6 Summers”
- “Brother’s Keeper” (featuring Pusha T)
- ★ “Cheers” (featuring Q-Tip)
- “Sweet Chick” (featuring BJ The Chicago Kid)
