Summary
Overview
Dax Shepard welcomes Grammy-winning artist Anderson .Paak to the show for a long-awaited conversation about his remarkable journey from poverty and homelessness to becoming a celebrated musician, director, and entrepreneur. They discuss his multi-generational family trauma, his mother's Korean heritage and incarceration, his father's addiction and imprisonment, and how music became his salvation. Anderson shares stories about his breakthrough with Dr. Dre, collaboration with Mac Miller and Bruno Mars, the iconic Tiny Desk performance, and his directorial debut K-Pops featuring his real son.
Family Origins and Multi-Generational Trauma
Anderson shares his family's complex history, beginning with his mother who was born in Korea during the Korean War to an unknown Black serviceman, abandoned at a dumpster, raised in an orphanage, and eventually adopted by African-American military parents. His father and uncle were twins from North Philadelphia with their own troubled past, including going to prison for each other. This foundation of abandonment, survival, and resilience shaped the family dynamics that would influence Anderson's life and art.
- Anderson's mother was born in Korea during the Korean War, likely to a Black serviceman, and was found abandoned by a dumpster with her brother
- She was adopted by high-ranking African-American military parents and grew up in Compton in the 1950s when it was still a suburb
- His father and twin brother were from Philadelphia and had such a wild relationship they would go to prison for each other and sneak into the military together
- His parents met in Oxnard at a club while his father was being discharged from the Air Force for drugs
" My mom's real different. She's a hustler. That's where I got the dog in me. I watched her just be her own boss and be real survival first and taking care of her fam, but just always working and always no excuses. "
Childhood Trauma: Domestic Violence and Parents' Incarceration
Anderson recounts the traumatic night when he was seven years old and witnessed his father beating his mother, leading to his father's 14-year prison sentence. He discusses his mother's later imprisonment for tax evasion related to her multimillion-dollar strawberry business, which happened during his senior year of high school. Despite these hardships, he credits his family's support and his ability to escape through music and television as keys to his survival and optimistic outlook.
- At age seven, Anderson witnessed his father severely beating his mother in the street, though he was in denial about it being his dad
- His father went to prison for 14 years; Anderson didn't see him again until his early twenties
- His mother built a multimillion-dollar strawberry farming business from a gifted stand but ended up in prison for tax evasion during his senior year
- Despite trauma, Anderson says he's always been an optimist who coped through music and television
" I was in denial as a kid. I remember seeing, you know, my mom getting beat, blood in the street. And I didn't want to believe that it was my dad. I was like, no, it was my uncle. And he had a twin. And I remember being like, no, it's not him. "
" Who cares your daddy couldn't be there? Yeah, yeah. always kept the cable on yeah oh yeah for all of us without a dad it's like uh-huh and it's fine it's all good "
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