You couldn’t ask for a better mentor in hip-hop than Dr. Dre. The Southern California rap legend has nurtured the careers of superstars like Snoop Dogg and Eminem, and he’s been a strong proponent of hip-hop wunderkind Anderson .Paak ever since recruiting Paak to work on six songs from Dre’s 2015 album Compton. Dre returned the favor by signing Paak to his Aftermath record label and executive-producing Paak’s hit albums Oxnard and Ventura. Like Snoop and Eminem, Paak has taken the boost from Dre and established his own identity, standing on his own as one of the most successful and acclaimed artists in hip-hop.
Paak started his music career as a drummer, and in concert he’s backed by his live band, the Free Nationals. Paak raps, sings, writes, produces and plays multiple instruments, and his work so far has only scratched the surface of his prodigious talents. “I want to open the lane for more hip-hop artists to sing and rap and play instruments,” he told the L.A. Times in April. “I don’t know if people always understood that that’s what I’m trying to do, but I’m confident in what I do. I’ve had to stop giving a damn about what people say about the music.”
The Pearl at Palms, 7:30 p.m. June 16, starting at $49.95 plus tax and fee. 702.944.3200
