
On the early-'70s throwback "Come Home," he drops to his knees with a sideways glance to humorously critique the condition of contemporary R&B ("No one even begs anymore!"), then gets Motown legend Smokey Robinson to assist on "Make It Better," another misty number with aching emotion. Paak devotes most of these 40 minutes to relating the ups and downs of intimacy. Moreover, R&B is favored to such an extent that Paak delivers what could be called host verses on only a couple tracks, and gets only one guest verse, a tongue-twisting, side-splitting contribution from André 3000. There's no space allowed for interlude hijinks or wayward diversions. Rather remarkably, it's the self-termed rap singer's tightest and most concentrated album yet. Although Oxnard and Ventura were laid down during the same sessions, the latter is neither leftovers nor a patchwork of adequate material that didn't fit on the former. Paak won a Best Rap Performance Grammy award for "Bubblin" and returned in April with Ventura, at which point his preceding Oxnard wasn't even six months old. Paak.Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs. Paak still raps in the album, but the verses are few and far between which make them fit better in each song.Īll in all, the romantic vibe of the tightly-knit record make this album a pleasure to listen to and gives much excitement for what is next from the uber-talented Anderson. In the standout single 'Make It Better', Paak teams up with Smokey Robinson for a romantic track to remember. Just as he borrows Motown from Robinson, Paak also uses disco for 'Reachin' 2 Much', bringing a Michael Jackson-esque vibe to the tune. Paak’s version of Outkast’s 'Speakerboxxx' – a shape-shifting hip-hop LP steeped in eccentric R&B - its sister LP, 'Ventura', is his 'The Love Below', an eccentric R&B record tilting towards hip-hop.

Now, the lean album that is 'Ventura' returns to the soulful vocals that made Anderson. Paak a Grammy nod for best new artist, so there was a lot of expectation for the followup that was 'Oxnard', especially when it came in the form of heavy-hitting rap. Paak famous - a 180 flip in both sound and theme from 'Oxnard'.Ģ017's 'Malibu' scored Anderson. After the somewhat falling short of his previous album - 'Oxnard' - listeners were sceptical that the artist had it in him to make another phenomenal album, but were treated to a return to the style that made. With his fourth album arriving just months after his third, the announcement of 11-track 'Ventura' from Anderson.
