EVAN

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Most transcendental artists delivering their third career album have at the time of its release point established a firm, consistent fan-base loyal to the artist’s take on whatever cross-sectional musical direction they explore. But for Anderson .Paak – a cross-sectional artist more fervently dedicated and equipped to expand his sound than any other – the global fan base that has made him a figure of popular culture and an important, influential force on a half-dozen musical stylings, the release of Oxnard holds a particular amount of expectation. 

Anderson .Paak’s fan base includes but is not at all limited to fans of hip-hop both new and old; fans of the exploding neo-soul movement, predominantly pushed by the reemergence of funk and jazz in the popular realm; audiences from R&B to electronica to grass-roots rock & roll; listeners who come from the instrumental prowess of .Paak and his accompanying band members; listeners who come for the Dr. Dre influence; and everything else imaginable. Long story short: There are a lot of people who want a lot of different things from Anderson .Paak. But, first and foremost what is important and should always be expected from an artist as broadly talented as the Southern California multi-dimensionalist, is his ability to innovate beyond expectation. 

And that is what he has done, just as he did with Venice, Malibu, and Yes Lawd, with Oxnard – his third solo studio album – and his third to lack any clear-cut definition in terms of genre or styling. At a time when the pillars of traditional genre are fading into their historical background, Anderson .Paak is the frontrunning artist pulling the world in his wake towards imminent post-genrefication, and each of his full length projects are his theses on how to achieve the transition.

Oxnard is as unexpected as is to be expected from .Paak. Driving the project with storyline and broad-based musical consistency, Oxnard runs like a modern take on the pasts of the stylings that define his style most. At its core, the project is a product of the vastness seen in neo-soul and its constantly expanding boundaries, absorbing in the process R&B, funk, jazz, and hip-hop, though of course it all bears its own .Paak spin. That spin, which in effect is a series of nods towards his ability to keep pace with anyone else in music – no matter their stylistic preference – is what makes Oxnard such a work of genius. 

In the past, he has delivered a smattering of tracks that have proven his ability as a rapper – even, almost to a fault, to the point at which rapper has become the most signature label propped against him by publications lacking the courage to explore him at depth. Just look at his most successful leading single en route to Oxnard’s release: Bubblin’. The high-octane track, in both its original form and the one which weighs .Paak’s own lyrical ability against one of the greatest to ever do it in Busta Rhymes, is interestingly but ultimately rightfully kept off the album. The track is a banger that shined a light on .Paak’s ability to create a career as a left-of-center rapper and it was certainly expected to make an appearance on Oxnard, but both .Paak and Dr. Dre seem to have saw the importance in developing an album reflective of Anderson .Paak as a wide-ranging yet balanced artist, and Bubblin’ just didn’t fit the bill. Instead, .Paak proved that can rap with two of the greatest lyricists not only of our time, but of all time (Tints featuring Kendrick Lamar & Trippy featuring J. Cole) while still keeping a particular auditory aesthetic of the project in check. Both J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar are likewise able to approach their hip-hop talent in a way complimentary of .Paak’s neo-soul approach to Oxnard at large, whereas Busta Rhymes is the last artist on Earth capable of toning it down.

In the spirit of exhibiting his wide range while also folding into the mix some of the world’s most established leading talents, .Paak also uses Oxnard to explore his longstanding skillset of blending into it all an R&B masterpiece. Recruiting an internationally acclaimed artist like BJ the Chicago Kid is not only a great musical choice, but also one requiring a lot of courage because, just like with the idea of juxtapositioning himself in a rap track against Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole, doing so in a vocally-driven track like Sweet Chick with BJ, requires of .Paak an insane amount of moxy. But in no way does he or the track disappoint. In fact, it’s one of the more memorable takeaway tracks at a singular level.

Again and again, Anderson .Paak uses singular tracks on Oxnard to display his superb talent alongside some of the most important musicians of all time, across the spectrum of music. He compliments Dr. Dre on Mansa Musa, Snoop Dogg on Anywhere, and Q-Tip on Cheers, proving his old school roots go deeper than influence and into genuine artistry. 

He balances with the charm in soulstress Kadhja Bonet’s voice (The Chase). He does the same with Norelle (Headlow).

He matches the meditative cadence and violent energy of Pusha T (Brother’s Keeper). 

He can rock an anthemic hit (Who R U? & 6 Summers).

He can break it down into an emotional ballad (Saviers Road).

And beyond that, there is a rare track on the album that itself isn’t made of multiple, varying compositional pieces, making Oxnard even more musically complex and stylistically diverse than at first glance. 

And through it all, Anderson .Paak never loses touch with himself as an artist. Through all the features with acclaimed talent, all the cadence shifts and stylistic discrepancy, he’s never overshadowed. In fact, he’s never not shining. 

His friends and collaborators certainly help make the project reach its broad scope, but Anderson .Paak makes Oxnard a masterpiece the likes of which no other modern artist could pull off.