Anderson .Paak is one of the brightest new artists in the game. The talented LA-based singer/songwriter crafts a brand of R&B that’s influenced by soul, funk, rock, and more. The fans anticipating his upcoming album regard him as a progressive vocalist, but there was a time in Paak’s life where he wanted to be more of a rapper. A “gangster rapper,” in fact. .Paak divulges the info in the trailer for his upcoming Word Is Bond documentary. The documentary will be aired on Showtime, and properly contextualizes how his myriad influences shape the artist he is today — especially the NxWorries album that he sees as his best work to date.
“I grew up playing in church, I got a lot of soul influence,“ .Paak says in the trailer. He clarifies, however, that, “I present myself as someone who’s coming up out of hip-hop culture. And when I was really trying to write music, I thought I was gonna be an MC. I thought I was gonna be a ‘gangster rapper.’” .Paak broke onto the scene with his showing on Dr. Dre’s grandiose Compton album. He sung on various tracks, including album standout “Deep Water.” It’s hard to picture .Paak spitting bar-for-bar with Kendrick instead of augmenting his lyricism with his soulful vocals, but it was possible. We think everything turned out the way it was supposed to, however.
