However you may feel about the Grammys, they guarantee at least one positive thing each year: a great live performance. This year, the highlight performance belongs to A Tribe Called Quest and Anderson .Paak, who gave us not only a standout performance, but also a reminder to resist the increasingly ludicrous political climate in which we find ourselves. While we can credit 2016 for bringing Donald Trump and many other surprising and often dismal things, the year didn’t leave us totally adrift.
Anderson .Paak, who provided his signature vocals and deftness at drums for the Grammy performance, came to prominence in an otherwise terrible year. January 2016 found him releasing his breakthrough album and second studio effort, Malibu, an exploration in soul and R&B of the highest caliber. Not content with just one resounding success, .Paak and producer KNXWLEDGE teamed up under the moniker NxWorries to release Yes Lawd!, a resounding follow up of nearly equal achievement in October. Even excluding albums, .Paak appeared as a defining feature on songs from A Tribe Called Quest, Schoolboy Q, Mac Miller, Rapsody and KAYTRANADA, to name a few. In other words, .Paak defined the 2016 music scene.
Besides his monstrous work ethic and penchant for success, .Paak has a remarkable ability to expound hope, positivity and resilience through his recent discography. On “Get Bigger/Do U Luv” from Yes Lawd! he urges us to better ourselves in the face of our greatest challenges, using the story of his come-up as a call to action. On the danceable yet brooding track “Lite Weight” from Malibu, .Paak ensures “there’s no reason to be afraid, no time to be like that.” If our president’s current actions are any indication, these are thoughts we need to keep in mind.
Politics aside, 2016 extinguished many of music’s greatest heroes, such as Prince, David Bowie and George Michael. On the track “Dang!” from Mac Miller’s recent release Divine Feminine, .Paak echoes the struggle of many, “I just can’t keep losing you over complications, gone too soon.” Despite so much darkness and difficulty, .Paak reminds us that our dreams are not limited by our current reality on the track, “The Dreamer” from Malibu, a love letter to those who will go the distance from the most unlikely of places.
A Tribe Called Quest, with whom .Paak appeared during the Grammys to collectively encourage our resistance to hate in the coming years, put .Paak on a critical feature on their album We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service. On the track “Moving Backwards,” .Paak pleads for us to halt our current regression.
As we continue into 2017 and witness so much of our country moving backwards, it will be at times hard to stay positive, to push forward against so much resistance. Anderson .Paak is creating music fluent in the language of inspiration, music that brings out the resolve in all of us. On his track “The Waters,” he calls out, “I bring you greetings from the first church of Boom Baptist, united fellowship of Free Nationals, residing pastor is .Paak.” All things considered, now would be a pretty good time to join his church.