Anderson .Paak Mixes Culture and Comedy in Root-Reconnecting Film ‘K-Pops’

Grammy-winning rapper and singer Anderson .Paak is starring in his directorial debut, “K-Pops!”, which opens in the U.S. on Friday. explores his Korean roots with.

Instead of delving into his own emotional struggles with his father, .Paak decided to make a heartwarming story about a father and son reuniting during a K-Pop game show.

“Comedy, laughter, love, music, food and culture have always been ways to cope,” the Come Down singer said.

Distributed by Aura Entertainment, “K-Pops!” stars .Paak, a Los Angeles musician and father who seeks to revitalize his career by moving to South Korea and joining a K-Pop group to compete in a music competition.

After being reunited with his long-lost son, he decides to prioritize his role as a father over his career as the two grow closer.

Paak has personal connections to South Korea. Her mother was born there during the Korean War and adopted by a Black-American family in the historically Black city of Compton in Los Angeles County.

.Paak, “K-Pops!” He said he was inspired to do it. After bonding with her son by making videos to K-Pop music during the global pandemic. However, not everything went as planned.

The singer began writing the script when his son was 8 years old and obsessed with K-Pop, but by the time he was 11, his son was more interested in heavy metal bands like Slipknot.

Moreover, he said that the process of making his first film brought both challenges and rewards.

“I got my ass kicked so many times, like making movies for the first time, traveling, learning to write screenplays, acting, making original music, making K-Pop music, learning the structure of K-Pop music, making Black music, trying to figure out how to get through that, different management and timings and everything. It was crazy,” he said.

Despite the obstacles in putting the film together, .Paak is passionate about its message.

“I hope people want to buy an instrument; I hope they want to listen to music they’ve never heard. I hope they want to spend more time with their families,” he said.