Anderson .Paak’s Mission Is Freedom
by Adam Perry for Denver Westword 6/10/2019
When Anderson .Paak performed the jubilant, funky song “Trippy,” from his 2018 album Oxnard, on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon earlier this year, millions of Americans were first introduced to him. At 33 years old, .Paak’s an incredible songwriter, singer and drummer. He’s an artist bringing unbridled joy back to hip-hop and R&B, evoking his heroes Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder.
“Everybody’s got their cause. Everybody’s got their purpose,” says .Paak, currently on tour with Earl Sweatshirt and Thundercat. “Hip-hop, there’s not a lot of freedom for black men. They can’t smile, or where they come from, it’s considered weak to express freedom. We’re told, ‘You can’t do this kind of music; you can’t be creative, build your own world, do your own thing and be happy.’ My whole thing is freedom.”
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Adam Perry 