It's been two years since California singer Anderson .Paak dropped off his acclaimed Malibu album, which impressed critics and fans alike. In the interim, the versatile rapper slash singer has been relatively quiet about his upcoming project, but as the old adage goes, it's merely the calm before the storm. Paak recently sat down with Triple J to promote his appearance at Melbourne's Laneway Festival, and revealed that both he and his band The Free Nationals have albums coming this year.
The Free Nationals have already worked with an impressive list of collaborators, including Daniel Caesar, Mac Miller, Kali Uchis, and possibly T.I. There's no word on when that project will drop, but when it does, an Anderson .Paak record shouldn't be far behind. In fact, the Aftermath signee has been working hard on his new album, and revealed a few intriguing details. When asked about Dr. Dre's involvement in the album, Paak said the legendary Doctor "had a heavy role in this new album that’s almost done as well. Just going through the mixing phase. I won’t say any dates but you can definitely expect it this year, sometime."
He continued to praise Dre, stating "It’s dope to be around like legends like that and you can feel the mutual respect. That’s what I always did it for, I wasn’t really thinking about money or fame, I just wanted the respect from the people I look up to musically. It’s amazing.” If you've been truly fiending some new music from Anderson Paak, stay tuned for The Black Panther OST on Friday, February 9th; Paak, Ab-Soul, and James Blake have a collaboration on that project, the ominously titled "Bloody Waters."