Like any smart musician, Anderson .Paak occasionally turns to others to help refine his work.
Yeah, that wasdefinitelya big learning experience, Paak says.
As it turned out, Dre, who is executive producingOxnard, was spot-on with his assessment.
Credit: Israel Ramos
And these were songs that I never thought Id write.
For one, .Paak says, Dre has nothing to lose when cooking up experimental ideas in the studio.
To hear him tell it, .Paak wants nothing less than to change pop music entirely.
Israel Ramos
Malibu, his Grammy-nominated breakout 2016 album, was a sprawling, soulful slice of Stax-inspired sincerity.
But .Paak opens the sonic floodgates forOxnard, which takes its name from his native city.
In total, it makes for one of the most tantalizing and trippy hip-hop releases of the year.
Or as the rapper describes it: This album is Anderson .Paak with some big-ass brass cajones!
Thats the one thing working with Dre, .Paak adds.
The nasal-voiced musician lets out one of his trademark hyena-style laughs.
Nah, Dre is just trying to have the most fun.
I almost have to scale him back a lot of times.
Like Lets go back to the hook, Dre!
He just wants to make the craziest music ever.
Yeah, it was pure creative bliss.
Not that .Paaks swift ascension was for a lack of previous effort.
Im in the era where everyones doing these shy-ass Auto Tune-y vibes, he says bluntly.
So I gotta be unique.
Frankly, the rapper adds, he only wishes more outre albums likeOxnardwere less of an outlier.
That was the s. Now its a whole different world.
Theyre all hit music-makers, he notes, before adding with a massive dose of humility, And me?
Im the guy thats still gotta put some numbers on the board.
