Modern take on classic funk
Every Christmas, when posed with the question, “Is there anything you want?” I always ask for clothes. Do I need new clothes? Not really. But I love receiving clothing as gifts from my family and friends.
The reason? The clothes I receive as gifts are almost never ones that I would think to buy for myself. Sometimes, at first glance, I would even classify them as “not quite my taste.” As it turns out, most of my favorite wardrobe items were presents.
A representation of someone else’s taste is bound to be broadening and intriguing. It leads to an expansion of my own self-definitions. This is why, every so often, I will ask a friend for music recommendations. Just as some of my favorite clothes were bought by someone else, many of my favorite bands were borrowed from someone else’s playlist.
The most recent addition to my collection of stolen taste is a musician who goes by the stage name “Anderson Paak.” The more I learned about him, the harder it was to believe that I had never heard of him before.
Believe it or not, his 2018 album “Oxnard” was executively produced by the one and only Dr. Dre. It features big-name artists like Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, J. Cole and Q-Tip.
These celebrity appearances came as a surprise for me. I had no idea what I was getting into when I pressed “play” on the “Oxnard” track list.
Upon hearing a voice that sounded a little too familiar, I said to myself (out loud, while alone), “is that Snoop Dogg!?” and, as it turns out, it was. That feeling of pleasant bafflement set the tone for the rest of my listening experience. The album, which is scheduled to be featured on tour this coming February, is quite a journey from start to finish.
The album starts out with a sweeping, ethereal feeling that quickly develops into something much more like classic funk. The title pays homage to Paak’s hometown of Oxnard, CA. Each track feels like a natural continuation yet has its own personality. Though the songs flow together well, they are not bound to each other.
Each track has a unique blend of political commentary, explicit expressions of sexuality, defining artistic profiles and more. A personal favorite, “6 Summers,” includes criticisms of, to be delicate, the current American political situation.
Paak confronts the current president directly, saying, “Dear Mr. President, it’s evident/ That you don’t give a [darn]/ Tell me something that I don’t know.” The most heavily repeated line is, “reform shoulda came sooner,” at one point preceded by, “pop pop pop goes the shooter.”
Political commentary is not difficult to find in pop culture, but it is increasingly rare to find commentary expressed with such creativity and mindful editing that the value is not inherently tied to the message. In other words, even without acknowledging the political messaging, “Oxnard” tracks are still absolute bangers. Especially “6 Summers.”
To drive that point home, another favorite is “Cheers,” the last track listed. It has slim political messaging. Instead, the lyrics are mostly about Paak’s increasingly prestigious standing in the music world.
Paak has been nominated for several awards from Grammys to BET Hip Hop Awards, and he received the Soul Train Centric Certified Award. My guess is that, a few months from now, his name will start to pop up more and more often.
