Anderson .Paak opens up about his difficult childhood
It’s been a busy year so far for singer-songwriter Anderson .Paak. In February, he won his first Grammy Award for best rap performance.
In April, Paak released his fourth studio album, “Ventura,” and this month, he began a national tour, which includes a headlining show at Madison Square. But before all that, Paak was just a kid in Oxnard, California, trying to deal with a difficult life at home through music.
“My pops, you know, battled with drug abuse. There was domestic abuse with my mom, and I saw a lot of craziness. Then he went off to jail. So, I never got to really, you know develop like a relationship with him before he passed away,” Paak told “CBS This Morning” co-host Anthony Mason.
Paak dealt with his feelings about his father by focusing on his music, which draws from a world of influences including funk, gospel and soul.
“I put everything into music, and I think there was a part of me that didn’t want people to, like, pay too much attention. So, I kind of just was like, ‘everything’s cool, man.’ You know, put a smile on and was like everything was all right,” Paak said.
But then, Paak’s mother ended up in jail too when he was about 18 years old. It’s something he feels made him stronger.
“I felt like some people are just built for more things than others,” he said. “I wasn’t the type to just break down and be like, ‘OK, I’m just gonna be a bum and that’s it.’ I was like, ‘OK, I’m gonna be square now. I’m going to get a job.”
Paak struggled to make ends meet, but his heart was always in music. He launched his career as Breezy Lovejoy before deciding he needed a different identity. Playing around with his given name, Brandon Paak Anderson, came up with Anderson .Paak.
“It sounds prestigious, you know? It sounds legit, you know? And I put the dot just to give it a little bit of mystery and a little bit of extra. I can’t do anything regular for some reason, so I put the dot and I was like it will always remind me of detail and how we got to this point,” he said.
As Anderson .Paak, buzz started to build. Then Dr. Dre heard his song “Suede.”
“He didn’t know who I was and I had to kind of show him proof. And so I got into the studio with him and I closed my eyes up on the mike. I did it out, and then I opened my eyes, and Dre is like ‘oh, you’ve got the pain. Like, you lit!'”
Paak has never looked back, and now he’s a father, too.
“I’ve got two boys, and my boy is smarter, faster, stronger and he sees everything I do. I can’t fool him. You know what I’m saying? Like I can’t fool my wife, and I can’t fool my 8-year-old son,” he said. “He keeps me super honest.”
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