Anderson .Paak, Ventura review: Tightly packaged, danceable funk
The album borrows heavily from the singer’s consistently brilliant 2016 record ‘Malibu’, itself a fresh slice of soulful funk
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Six months after the release of Oxnard, Anderson .Paak returns with another Dr Dre-produced record, Ventura. Where the former was overflowing with choppy, experimental sounds, guest appearances and clumsy attempts at Gil Scott Heron-esque revolutionary lyrics, the sequel – recorded around the same time – streamlines .Paak’s sound, making for a tightly packaged, melodic and danceable album.
Rather than being an album of Oxnard offshoots, Ventura instead borrows heavily from .Paak’s consistently brilliant 2016 record Malibu, itself a fresh slice of soulful funk. The singer croons over disco-infused, Quincy Jones-inspired trumpets on “Reachin’ 2 Much”, masterfully interplays vocals from Smokey Robinson with violin flourishes on “Making it Better”, and playfully raps about global warming on “Yada Yada”.
Early single “King James” – an ode to basketball player LeBron James – is one of the album’s highlights. On it, .Paak also attacks Trump’s immigration plans (“If they build a wall, let’s jump the fence, I’m over this”) over an oh-so-smooth bassline and jazzed drum beat.
There’s little bloat throughout the 11 tracks, with .Paak stripping back the number of guests – the most notable being Outkast’s André 3000, who offers an intense verse on opener “Come Home”. The album’s tempo, though, is fairly unchanging, and tracks towards the end start to meld into one. “Twilight” may have Pharrell behind the wheel, but the pounding drums quickly become relentless: a strangely unremarkable production from the N.E.R.D. hit-master.
Still, as .Paak sings on “Winners Circle”, “They just don’t make them like this anymore”. Considering how few artists have such command of their craft as .Paak, he’s not wrong.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments