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ABC/Randy HolmesAfter winning his first Grammy earlier this year, Anderson .Paak is up for two more of them, and he thanks rap icon Dr. Dre for much of his success.
Paak released his first two albums independently, and then signed to Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment label in 2016. He dropped his last two albums, Oxnard and Ventura, on Aftermath with Dre serving as his executive producer.
“It’s a dope relationship, and I think its really, really unique,” the “Make It Better” singer tells ABC Audio.
“I don’t know if there’s any other artist that’s had this kind of relationship with Dre where they worked this closely with him, and put this much material out in this short a time, and I’m really fortunate because Dre was one of those people that took a chance on me before I had a name.”
Paak was relatively unknown when Dre featured him on five tracks on his 2015 Compton album. The project featured numerous stars including Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and Eminem. Anderson is very grateful to the legendary producer for having faith in his talent.
“It was like, ‘Let’s see what this kid’s got.’ Not only did he take the chance, he actually put the music out before he even signed me,” Paak recalls.
“I was able to maneuver and get my music out based on that momentum of his project and continue to put my stuff out, and then eventually sign to him, and we put two projects out already where we’ve worked really close.”
Last month, Paak performed charity concerts in San Francisco, Atlanta and New York City that benefited the International Rescue Committee, which assists immigrants and refugees. His next performance will be January 18 at the first 4xFAR Festival in Coachella Valley, California.
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