If you grow up playing in church, it removes a lot of the boundaries that other musicians might have, growing up with sheet music or whatever.
Life got very good - we went from living in a one-bedroom apartment to a five-bedroom mansion by the time I was in high school. I had everything I wanted growing up, though all I wanted was music stuff - drums, a PC, turntables.
I had a project called 'Cover Art,' which was the first project I did under the new name Anderson .Paak. I went through this process where I was recording new music for about six months straight.
I tell people a lot of times, if you want to be a part of something, you never know, you kind of just have to be around. A lot of people don't really have the patience for it, and they don't stick around. Dre and I are still working together, and we have plenty of music for the future.
I think there's a void for some authentic soul music with an edge. I think there's some people who grew up with Motown and Stevie Wonder that still can appreciate Future, Drake, and all these different things, too, but there shouldn't be a void for those people, as well.
If you're doing black music, you should have a core understanding of where that comes from, and the fundamentals - so you're not some bozo thinking you're doing something new.
There's quite a few artists that didn't pop off until they were a little older - Rick James being one.
I don't think there's anybody that has such a keen sense of vocal production and attention to detail as Dre.
When the pastor's up there, they do this thing called looping. They are literally riffing and spitting in the key of the organ. When looping, you're in key, you're in a rhythm, you're in a pocket, and that's where James Brown was pulling from, and so that's where I'm pulling from. The only difference is I'm coming at it under hip-hop.
I learned a lot from working with and watching Knxwledge, seeing how he produces non-stop. He doesn't dwell too long on stuff. He's very simple, using only about two or three elements. I like that in production. Sometimes it doesn't take more than three drums, a melody, the vocal, looping a sample or whatever, just as minimal as possible.
I got invited to work on Dre's 'Compton' project.
A lot of people who work with Dre, you're lucky if anything sees the light of day.
I just want people to be affected by the music. I'm really affected by my surroundings and put everything in my music - what I'm not getting and what I desire. I want it to be uncompromised... almost a spiritual thing.
It would feel like a smack in the face to sign with any label outside of Dre's. He took a risk on me, and that means everything.
Drumming is a real part of my live show, and I like to do it because so many people aren't expecting me to go and do it.
I'm part of the generation that grew up with great rappers like 2Pac and Biggie and people like Amy Winehouse. We've seen a lot of different artists come and go. Even people who are still here, they seem consumed and blinded by fame. It may not have taken them out physically, but they have been taken out.
