Brandon Paak Anderson, perhaps better known by his stylized moniker Anderson .Paak, views himself as a free spirit who values space above all other details. You can tell in the way he speaks: his conversational voice is doled out in a measured monotone that belies a melodious timbre that towers and soars and somersaults onstage; it also comes through in his style: he looks as cozy in formalwear as he does in Stone Island and a pair of Converse Chuck IIs. Read more…

The Oxnard-born performer has seen his career skyrocket since Dr. Dre tapped him to play as a secret weapon on last year’s Compton and his thrusters kicked further into gear with 2016′s Malibu. .Paak, meanwhile, has managed to balance mainstream acclaim with his underground chops — he still keeps in touch with the Hellfyre Club team, don’t you worry. The critical darling has seen his star continue to rise, so HYPEBEAST caught up with .Paak on the phone to see how he keeps himself grounded amongst the acclaim, how he sees his own style evolving, and what’s next for him and his career.

Where are you right now?
I guess this is Los Feliz, maybe Silverlake area.

Oh, so you’re back in the States then.
Yeah, Eastside. It was hectic in Europe, man.

What is your purest form of self-expression?
My purest form of self-expression would probably have to be the music, y’know? Even more specifically: playing the drums. I really feel like getting everything out and I’m explaining myself when I’m on those drums. And — (a dog barks, Anderson laughs) — that’s probably the closest thing I get to meditation. Pure expression, y’know.

I read somewhere that your first musical experience was playing the drums in a baptist church, so I was wondering how you see that gospel and choral influence coming through in your music?
It’s my foundation, so it’s just what I’m grabbing from. That was my first schooling and where I got a lot of my core instincts, so the spirit of my music is in that. People say my music has a positive vibe to it and I think the church has something to do with it — the music there is so uplifting and healing. The energy. They like to believe that music is coming from God, so I think that foundation is still with me and it’s the root of what I’m doing. I picked up on a lot of other stuff as well, but you can’t really escape that — when you played in the church as long as I did, at least.

Read the rest of the interview via Hypebeast HERE.