“In the church, when you perform is not for form or fashion. You’re a vessel. You know, to God Be the Glory. It’s not about you. When they say play the pocket, we know you can do all that crazy stuff, but sometimes it’s easier to run away than to look for what would make you stay. It might be a little harder to practice that little discipline, but it might be worth it in the end for the people. And that’s what we’re doing. We’re serving the people with this music. I’m providing the soundtrack to your life. And it’s a balance. I don’t know if I’ll ever master it, but I’m enjoying the journey.”
-Anderson .Paak, episode 445 of Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
Musician Anderson .Paak has always marched to the beat of his own drum. Whether he’s on the church circuit in Oxnard, center stage at the Grammys, or as one half of groups like NxWorries and Silk Sonic, Anderson is joyfully, defiantly, himself.
The versatile singer-songwriter joins us this week to discuss his directorial debut, K-Pops! (3:31), the music—Frankie Beverly & Maze, Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder—that shaped his upbringing in Oxnard, CA (14:05), and the life-changing afternoon that eventually inspired the track “Battlefield” (16:00). Then, Anderson reflects on discovering the drums in middle school (21:15), his winding road to becoming a professional musician (27:35), and how his SoundCloud hit “Suede” stopped Dr. Dre in his tracks (42:20).
On the back-half, we dive into the whirlwind decade following the release of “Malibu”: featuring a lesson in presence from Snoop Dogg (58:00), tour life (1:00:15), the spirit of James Brown (1:02:08), collaborating with Smokey Robinson on the instant classic “Make it Better” (1:07:15), his next record (1:16:00), and how he hopes the music continues to evolve in the years ahead (1:19:00).
Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at talkeasypod@gmail.com.
Watch this conversation on YouTube:
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Show-notes:
- Get tickets to see K-Pops! in AMC theaters, opening February 27th.
- Hear his albums: Malibu, Why Lawd?, An Evening with Silk Sonic, Ventura, Oxnard, Yes Lawd!, and Venice.
- Find Anderson .Paak’s tour dates.
- Visit Andy’s in West Hollywood.
- Follow him on Instagram.
- For more, hear Weyes Blood, Questlove, David Byrne, and Joey Badass.
- Order your Talk Easy mug in cream and navy or our vinyl record with Fran Lebowitz.
Illustrations by Krishna Shenoi. Reference photograph by Simran Malik.
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