January 15, 2016
Empire
2xLP
A year after announcing himself as a dwarf star in bloom on Dr. Dre’s Compton, Anderson .Paak confidently took the reins on Malibu and asserted himself as not just an up-and-comer but a genuine auteur with a fully-formed vision of his own. Malibu draws on everything from the smooth soul sounds of Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye, the southern bounce of Outkast and the Dungeon Family and the neo-soul crooning of D’Angelo and Erykah Badu while injecting in his quirky sense of humour, production wizardry (along with assists from everyone from Madlib to Robert Glasper to Kaytranada) and irrepressible libido to make him one of the most compelling figures to emerge in the 2010s.