Simplify Your Life with Anderson .Paak

Somebody said my teeth are like the Tim Tations. Everybody wanted to see me. So back then it was it was tough. I got the braces on and then it was it was a long process. It just just just happened like this. I didn't come out like this. It was a whole process. Your teeth are like that. You probably had the retainers. Yeah. The night thing. They were like, we're going to work on. Yeah, we're going to work on. The jaw fasteners and all that. You have all that. Why you got to do me like that? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm gonna have to head here. Damn. I was like, I was like, I stopped short. I was like, I'm just gonna head here. Just hold on. So you got to get a jaw to bang. And you were a chubby little dude. Yeah. I was a hefty critic. Yeah. So you were eating your way through the pain. I was. I was. Oh, God. Okay. I eat because I'm unhappy. Okay. Yeah, that was it. My mom works so much. Right, right. She knows how to cook. She can burn, but she not time. She just be like, here's 20 bucks. Figure it out. Hey. Craig in black. I am in black today. The man in black. Michelle in blue. You know, this, this episode today made me reminded me of, I wanted to ask if you remember when you used to take drum lessons. Oh, yes. I remember. I remember. I remember. I remember. I remember. I remember. I remember. I remember. I remember. I remember. I remember. I remember. Yes. How old were you when you started? I was in elementary school and I had to be like in fifth grade. Well, I thought you were even younger than that. Yeah. No, I don't think. Okay. If, if anything, it was fourth grade, but I didn't think it was fourth grade. I think it was fifth grade. But um, and, and folks out there drum lessons back in the day. I had drumsticks and I had a drum pad that was made out of solid rubber. It was a solid rubber pad and it was on an angle. Yeah. And it had a little circle in the middle. And then you eventually moved to like a pad that was a drum. It was a pad. It was like a pad. Like the material that is actually a drum was on a pad about this big. Yeah. Yeah. That was the extent of my drum lessons. I could not get past that. And looking back on how music was taught when we were coming up, you know, it is the opposite of wanting to get kids interested in music because we come from a family of musicians on both sides. Musicians, singers. And we grew up with our aunt, Robbie, who lived downstairs and was a piano teacher. So the music was always strumming through our house. So I sent from four years old, wanted to play the piano because I could hear the scales happening and I could imitate the scales even at four. But you know how she would start us out with the piano keys on a cardboard? Oh, it was terrible. Like we're sitting next to the piano and I'm like, I want to go on the instrument. And she's like, nope. And we did that for weeks and I was so mad because I was like, I didn't come down here to play on a. So, you know, I think the approach to teaching kids music these days is a little better. Yeah. Yeah. My son who has taken piano lessons, his teacher first thing comes out of her mouth. What song would you like to play? Yeah. Yeah. And he said Old Town Road. And she found him the sheet music for it. That's how you grab because he's still taking lessons now and he's 16. And it's just such a better way of teaching. That's like taking a kid out to a basketball court. You want to teach him basketball and no ball and no basket. No ball. Just like just imagine it. Just out here running around. Think about it. Hold your hands in the right position. Our guest today is a musical genius who hopefully has a better story than we did. Yeah. Yeah. I can't wait to hear how he got exposed to music. But thank God he wasn't. He didn't have. He didn't have Aunt Robbie. I want to find out if he had a practice pad. Or if he got to start straight on the drums. But why don't you introduce him? I will. I will. And he's a youngin too. He's a youngster. Oh, let's see how young. Yeah. He's got a baby face. And we're talking about Anderson Pack who is a boundary pushing artist, producer, now director, and nine time Grammy award winner. He emerged from his roots as a teenage church drummer in Oxnard, California with a breakout album, Venice and the universally praised album Malibu. He's expanding his creative reach through his newest film, K-Pops, which you all have to go see. It is so good. Wonderful. In which he stars, co-wrote and directed. So Mr. Pack, will you come join us? Man, did they make that in a double X? I mean, I want to zoom in on the shoes. Can we do that? I mean, you said that's a Japanese brand. Are those high tops? Those are. Are they mules? What's the bet? Lift up the heel. Ah, those are fire. Fire. Well, welcome. Welcome, man. Thank you for having me. Yeah. Yeah. Are you kidding? We're honored. I mean, I love you. I love you too. To death. I mean, you are more than just talented. I mean, you got, you got. You quadruple threat or all the threats, you know, personality, talent. You can act your butt off. You can produce. You are gifted musician and seem like a really, really good man. Wow. Thank you. So we. And now actor and director. That's right. If I wasn't doing enough stuff. Welcome to the club. Talk to her about that, man. Thank you so much. Yeah. Well, did you have a drunk? No, I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. Did you have a drum pad? Did you have a better start? My drum pad was the couch. See the bed, pots and pans. And then I was driving everyone crazy. And eventually they got a drum kit in the house. My step pops. How old were you when you got a drum kit? I was about 12. I was in like sixth grade. You had real drums in sixth grade. Yeah. But it almost didn't happen. I was supposed to play. I wanted to play saxophone. I wanted to serenade the ladies. I wanted to be, you know, outside the window. And they was like, we had a saxophone. And I was like, well, I damn sure I ain't playing the flute. Wait, you went to get a saxophone and they said they were out? I just started sixth grade in middle school. And I was like, I'm going to band. Because before that, I was really into music, dancing, everything. But I was like, I want to play instrument now. And it was the first day and I was so dead set on the sax. And there was no more left. And they said, all we have is the drums. We have the bass drum or the snare drum. Which one do you want to play? And I didn't even think what was going to be my plan B. So I was like, I guess I'll pick the drums. I picked the bass drum. And they had us in there playing on these big old things. And I'm like, I can't get no girls with this. And I was about to quit. Baby, I love you. I'm back to window. I'm in the garden. Hold on. Let me put this thing on. Playing Georgia's Jungle. Getting the cuffs caught on me. It would have just been all bad. I was about to quit. And I was walking home one day and my step pops had a drums kit in the house. And he was playing along to some Prince records. And I didn't even know he played. And he was like, I heard you're playing drums now. So I got a drum kit. And I didn't think about the whole drum kit in a sense. Because in band, it was just separate drums. So he had the drum kit. And I was like, OK, this is cool. And when he finally got off of it, I hopped on and it was the first thing I ever did where I just picked it up really quick. You did. Like instrument wise. And before that, I was trying to play basketball, everything. I was really terrible. And I got on that kit and my mom came running out dancing. And she started dancing. I've never really seen her dance before. So I was like, whoa, like this is crazy. Like I'm making a beat that's causing people to dance. I want to keep doing this. And so your step pops, you called them? Yeah. He was a drummer. Yeah. So you learned just by hearing him play or you really learned when you were in band? Yeah, he was showing me a few things. OK. And then right when I started playing in the house, my mom gave me like all her records. She was like, OK, you need to learn archer, building the drills. You need to learn earth, point of fire, free. Learn these beats. And so I was just doing that every day at the house after school. And then my god sister came by and she said, oh, you're playing drums? You need to come to church with me. And she took me to church. And it was the Black Gospel Church. Yeah. And there wasn't very many Black people in the city of Oxnard where I'm from, but they were all there at the church. They all went there. One church. Everybody went to see. Like this is where everybody is. Yeah, yeah. And that's where I really learned how to play. It was the best musicians in the world coming through and playing behind a choir, playing behind, you know, organists and choir directors. I'm a church kid. So I grew up playing drums all the way till I was about three years old when I couldn't really do it anymore because I was traveling a lot. But since I was little, I was picking up on grooves and I was really into dancing. Like I wanted to be like, I was grew up in front of TV. My mom was always working and my sister's pretty much raised me in front of the TV. So I grew up watching like BTM TV and music videos and stuff. So I would want to learn every new dance that came about. And, you know, now when I listen to music, it's tough because like I produce, I write and everything. So it's tough to kind of like turn that off and just like just enjoy a song sometimes. But I really love when something has a nice groove, good drum tones. And I really love chords and also like clever lyrics. Yeah. So I think that could be, you know, anything. But yeah, when it comes to like dancing and stuff, I guess I'm the drums moving. It's funny when you, our generation, when you say I watch TV all the time and I used to, I was waiting for you to say Soul Train, but it was like, oh my God. That too? Soul Train? Yeah, but it wasn't even on when you were little. Yeah, yeah. I mean, you know, that's the thing. You're grile of it. Yeah, yeah, I've heard of it. You know, people have said it. That Soul Train line is part of everyone's culture. But we were there. That's what it's like. I got to, you know, I'm getting old and I'm like, oh yeah, they had MTV, you know. And you talk about Oxnard, there weren't a lot of black folks in your neighborhood. Tell us how you, who lived in Oxnard? And, you know, were you born there? Was your mother from there? Was there, you know? Yeah. Well, Oxnard is a beautiful place. It's a small town. A lot of people think it's like the valley or it's about an hour north of LA going towards Santa Barbara. And it's a beach town. It's a lot of agriculture, so a lot of Latinos. And when I was coming up, it was mostly Latinos, like second generation Latinos and white people. And I was like the only black kid in my high school. And my mom ended up there because she, well, my mom's story is crazy, but, you know, long story short, she was an adopted kid during the 50s during the Korean War. She was a found kid. Her and my uncle were found abandoned. And she was adopted, brought to North Indonesia, adopted by black parents who were in the military. And so she was raised in Compton, California, all around LA, up until her 20s. And she met my dad. He was in the military as well. He's from Philly and he was stationed in Point Magoo, which is in Oxnard. And they met there. They met in the club. And eventually my dad battled with addiction and several different things, but they had me and my little sister in Oxnard. And that's where we were raised until my pops went to prison. And then we moved to Ventura, which is just the next city over. But yeah, we were just like just a tight family. I grew up, I'm the middle boy of three sisters from my mom and my pops was rolling stone. He had a bunch of kids too, but mostly women. So I was just, yeah, the boy that was there to like provide entertainment and fun and sometimes therapist, you know, everybody's talking about each other. And I'm in the middle like, I know, I told you, I'm crazy. And I'm saying the same thing to my sister. Yeah. But yeah, we're all really close to my mom. And she just, you know, she was a workaholic. She also worked in agriculture growing up. So she was gone a lot doing her own thing. I never seen her work for anybody. She was entrepreneur. And, you know, she was just like all about her family, keeping her family together and working hard. And we had a lot of fun. It was a lot of trauma too. But yeah, yeah, you have had an amazing story of a lot of ups and a lot of downs and few curves. But did you feel like you had a community of friends in Oxnard being the only black kid in your school? What was that like for you? Yeah. For you just making it as a kid? Yeah, I dealt with all kinds of stuff. It was really dope though and a blessing that I grew up playing drums in church because I had different communities. So I had my church family, which was, that was where a lot of the black culture and everything surrounding that was where I, you know, thrived at. And then I had, when I go to school, it was like my white friends, my Mexican friends, then I had that. And then at home, everybody was doing their thing. My sisters were listening to all kinds of stuff from, you know, SWV, the new addition, and Raya. And my mom wouldn't go past like Tony, Tony, Tony, Freddie Jackson. You couldn't play nothing after that. It was always, you know, don't touch it. But when the fire, it was like, you know, that was what was going on. And then I go to school and they were listening to Nirvana and Radiohead and all this, the food fighters. And I was getting all of these things and I was growing up really quickly. I felt like I can't wait to get out of this town. It's not enough diversity. I'm too big for this town. I wasn't seriously want to start doing music. I wanted to escape to all these different places that I've seen like on television or on movies or on records that were here. And looking back on it, I was just dead set. Soon as I graduate, I'm going to LA, I'm going to make it, I'm going to get signed, I'm going to be doing all these different things. And it didn't happen exactly like that. And I'm actually glad it did because it built a lot of character. And I'm glad that I grew up in a small town now because I think it gave me different kind of perspective. And I don't even know if I would have survived coming up in LA when I look back at it now. It was different. But yeah, I battled with like identity stuff, you know, thinking I wasn't black enough with the kids that I grew up with in church. And then I go to Suburbs and I'm the only black kid. And I thought I had to be the black spokesman for the whole school. I think my mom saw that too. And my mom deals with, you know, being an orphan and growing up. And she's biracial too. She is. She didn't know anything about her Korean culture, you know, and we grew up black in a black household. And I didn't know about anything about Koreans, anything. When I found out my mom was Korean, I just took it as something I could tell to people and make me exotic. How old were you when you found out or when you realized she was Korean? I was about like, I think she was telling us this when I was about 10, 11. When we started sitting down, she started telling us her story. And she wouldn't always do it, but she would open up some time, you know, and she was like, yeah, when we got there, you're in your uncle. We were found and this and that. We'd be like, what? That's crazy. And okay, so we're Korean. Okay, I'm mixed. Nice. I'm about to tell everybody. That's a story to tell. Well, when did your mom tell you the story of your biological father? Because she, did you remember him because he was in prison like you were seven? Right. And did you remember that story, the story of him, the story of what happened with them? Yeah, yeah, totally. You know, my pops went to prison when I was around six or seven and I saw him, he was a twin. Which is a trip. Yeah, yeah. We got to talk a little bit about that. Crazy story with that. Yeah. But you couldn't tell him apart. So, you know, I remember we were with my babysitter at the house and I heard someone screaming. I go outside and my pops is on top of my mom. There's blood in the street and he's like, get back in the house. My babysitter screaming like, don't do it. Don't do it. And he's like, I got a gun and I didn't know it was in complete shock. I was really in denial. I was like, no, that must be my uncle. Like this can't be because my mom didn't tell me about any of this. I didn't know that. And you didn't see anything. I didn't see anything. I never saw them fight. Now that I think about it, he was gone from the house, but my mom was always saying like, he's working. He's getting his health together. But I didn't know that he was actually going through rehab and my mom was trying to get him help through AA. And he was estranged. She didn't know where he was and she was so me, you know, he was on drugs and everything, but she felt like she was going just as crazy just trying to get him off. She would be chasing people down trying to find them doing all these things. And everything just came to a head that day. And, you know, we left ran out the house and my pops ended up getting arrested and sent to prison for years after that. But it was around that time that she told me, you know, your pops had a very different life, you know, than a lot of people. He came up in Philly. He got kicked out the house when he was a teen. This is in North Philly and, you know, in the 70s. And he was a kid out there trying to raise himself and got somehow gotten to the military early and just grew up, you know, in a different way. And then was really, she's always told me it was really a beautiful person and a great dad. It was just when he got addicted to drugs, he just really turned him into someone different and he couldn't just, he couldn't win that battle. And yeah, she told me about that, how they met and everything. And but it was, it was crazy because even though she went through all that stuff with him, she never said anything bad. And yeah, that's very noticeable in your whole story. She's still trying to hopefully hoping that he could turn it around and not not ruining your vision of him until she absolutely couldn't help it. That says a lot about her. For sure. Yeah. And you know, after she got back on her feet, she was just like, all right, we got a new chapter now, you know, we're going to move out of this house and I'm going to get back to work. Son, let the big example do not touch no drugs, don't get into no drinking, stay away from all of it. Did that do it for you? Yeah, it was, it was always like a warning for sure. And I knew that I had a, there was a thing in my family where we battle with addiction, you know, and so I was always weary and I didn't do very much anything that was really scared straight, you know, all the way up into my 20s, 21 when I moved to LA. I hadn't done really much anything and I was in church, so I was scared of everything. I didn't want to go to hell. So I was like, I'm just doing this. It's like, look, you just play my drums. Yeah, playing my drums, being cool, I was late bloomer. And so yeah, you know, that helped, but you know, you get older, you go through life, you got to experience stuff for yourself. But yeah, she's still like that, you know, my mom is the strongest person. And, you know, it was my mom that when they got together, she found out that he had other kids and everything and she had two kids, older kids of her own from another marriage. And my mom was, you know, going through every husband she went through. I'm crazy. But she was big on him getting all the kids together. So I remember when we were young, she got us all together with our sisters and my brothers that I had from Philly and brought us all together at the house in Oxnard. We met everyone in like a big family reunion. And then when he got put in prison later, and I got my 20s, it was my sister from his side that really was like, you should talk to him. He's not doing well. He's just got a prison, but he's not his health isn't well. And he really wants to talk to you and he really wants to kind of make it right. And were you who you are now? No, still making it. No, I was still making it. I was just barely, I mean, I was doing music, but it was, I was no nothing was going on for me. And I had just gotten my first like shows and started going on tour and I was, you know, thought I was too busy to talk to him. I didn't really want to have a relationship. I thought I didn't. I thought I didn't need it. And I was, it was still like that trauma when I seen him and knowing all that stuff. But I'm glad I did end up talking to him because I didn't know that like you could be going through stuff and not even know it. You know, when you talk to these two people that you feel like your parents were always your parents and they don't, they weren't an adult and having to go through life just like how you have to go through life. And so I got to talk to him and he told me how proud he was of me and how he wanted to be a singer too. And I learned that he was like on the gong show and they were auditioning and he had a group and he was, he had big dreams too. Okay, so fun fact. Kelly has always loved reselling stuff online, whether it's furniture, clothing, old sports memorabilia that only I like looking at. I'm not sure if she's ready right now to open up her own business, but the day she does, I know we'll be checking out Shopify. Because Shopify really is where you go when you want to turn something from just an idea into an actual business. It gives you all the tools to build something real. And these days, you want your business to be everywhere people are already shopping. And Shopify helps with discovery through Google, YouTube, TikTok shop, the shop app and more. And even just as a consumer, I so appreciate that purple shop pay button. Their signature at checkout. It makes everything fast and easy, which is great for customers and great for anybody trying to actually close the sale. Thinking about starting a business. This is your sign. Get started today at Shopify.com slash IMO. This message is a paid partnership with Apple Card. You know, I like keeping things simple and that's exactly what Apple Card does. When you use Apple Card with Apple Pay, you can earn up to 3% unlimited daily cashback on every purchase you make, no matter where you shop. And let's talk about fees, because honestly, nobody likes those, which is why Apple Card doesn't have any. No annual, foreign transaction or late fees. No fees, period. Plus, when it comes to security, you can shop with a piece of mind knowing Apple Card is built with the advanced security of Apple Pay, including face ID and touch ID. So you're the only one who can use it. Apply in the wallet app on your iPhone today. Subject to credit approval, variable APRs for Apple Card range from 17.49% to 27.74% based on credit worthiness. Rates as of January 1st, 2026. Existing customers can view their variable APR in the wallet app or at card.apple.com. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank, USA, Salt Lake City branch. Terms and more at applecard.com. Given all the stuff that you've been through at a young age like that, how did you remain so positive, so bright? Because we met briefly for the first time before we came out here and you have this light about you, this great spirit. How were you able to keep or did you? Yeah, I mean, there's times, I have my moods and everything. I've been called moody and there's a lot behind the smile. And I did an interview recently with a rapper named Nori who pointed this out. He said, usually people like that, they have that smile and they've been through all this crazy stuff. They try to protect their peace. And I think that's probably what it was. Me having this, how I am now, there's a part of it that's natural, but there's a part of it too. I feel like a defense mechanism, a coping mechanism that I had from the things that I've seen, things that I've gone through. And my peace is important for me. The things that I do were kind of like escapism, I feel like, for what was going on in my reality. When I think about me going watching the TV and learning how to dance and then learning how to play drums and moving on to everything that I'm doing now. It's always that kid that was running to his room and getting away from the craziness, I think, and creating my own world. Music was that. Music was that. And the smile is just, you know, think I'm a mom, got me some braces because the smile wasn't always just nice. It was coming at you in 4D. And so she was like, we gotta get a grip on that. Somebody said my teeth are like the temptations. Everybody wanted to see me. So back then it was tough. I got the braces on and then it was a long process. It just happened like this. I didn't come out like this. It was a whole process. If your teeth were like that, you probably had the retainers, the night things, but they were like, we're going to work on it. Yeah, we're going to work on it. Like jaw fasteners and all that. You can have all that. Why you got to do me like that? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I was like, I'm sorry. I'm short of head gear. Just hold on. So you got to get a jaw to bang and... And you were a chubby little dude too. I was a hefty critter. You were eating your way through the pain. I eat because I'm unhappy. Yeah, that was it. It's my mom, but she works so much. She knows how to cook. She can burn, but she never times. She just be like, here's 20 bucks. Figure it out. And we go order some pizza and Taco Bell and man, that's how I was doing. I didn't have good eating habits for so long. I didn't know I didn't have good eating habits. I was like, I don't know how I grew up. Cut the noodles and time round and everything. And yeah, I was as big as a house. And then yeah, when I... After my senior year, I was like screw this. I'm still a virgin. I'm gonna be fly. I put that snare drum down. Exactly. I'm gonna get me a girl. Your mom sounds incredible. I mean, because it's like, you know, she also was taking care of your step brothers and sisters like they were her own. Absolutely. Even through all that she went through with your father, right? And never treated them differently. You know, it's like you all were all one family. And for her to be able to hold it together like that through all that she was dealing with, but she had some tough times. And I'm sure that had a lot to do. Well, let me not put words in your mouth, but talk about what your mom went through and how that affected it. Because you guys were on the upswing with her business. She was into strawberries. Can you talk about that? Yeah, my mom has a strawberry company in Oxnard. And, you know, we went from... After my pops went to prison, we were in, you know, part-ments. And every year just the business got better. And by the time I was in a senior high school, we were in a big mansion. And we were used to always like changing, you know, different houses and everything, but we were doing good. And again, I didn't... My mom, she kept stuff from me. She thought kids business was kids business and she was going to work and we didn't need to know everything. And I remember just like having everything. I had my own studio, my sisters, my two older sisters, they were married, but she was taking care of them as well. And everything was on the ups. And I got called into the principal's office one day. And my principal just slid the newspaper to me and was my mom on the front cover. She had been arrested and my step-pops was in cuffs too. And they had been both been arrested. And I was just like, what the hell is going on? He's like, you know what's going on? I was like, no. Then my brother-in-law called me and he's like, yo, they got mom, they've been building a case on them for years. And they got her for like 75 counts, you know, securities fraud and all these different things. And I was just in shock. And the whole school was looking at me like, that's how you got that house. And I was like, again, only blackhead in school. And it was just like, damn, it was messed up. And everything just turned upside down. And, you know, so my pops being in prison, my uncle, now my mom, my step-pops, it was just like nonstop. And yeah. Where did you guys go after? Because she had, she went to prison, she was sentenced. Yeah. So she was, she was actually in county for like a year and a half. We were trying to figure out how to get her a lawyer and see if we're going to fight it and all this stuff. And she was like, I don't want to fight it. We couldn't get, she was like, we're not, if we can't get a great lawyer, I just going to do my time. I know what I did. I know they're trying to put me under the prison. So I'm just going to do a plea, do what I, my time and I'll be out. You should get a job, Brandon, because your sisters are going to come in and watch your little sister. And as soon as you can work, you should figure out something. I know you want to do your music, do that as well. But you should get out the house and be a man and go and lighten the load. How old were you? I was 17. Yeah. So I, I, What did that feel like? I mean, what did that feel like to your 17 year old soul to have your work world turned upside down and then be told you got to, you got to figure it out. Yeah. I mean, one hand it was crushing because my mom is, I just, it would just kill me to know like she was in prison. Like, she was not a violent person, the sweetest person, no criminal record. So I was just always so worried like what's going on in there with her and I hope she's okay. And, and then on the other hand, she was just so positive, optimistic and strong that it made me want to get my stuff together and just keep going. And she was very just like, yeah, man, I'm going to be all right. You know, I'm worried about you guys more so like you guys, you know, do what you guys have to do. Don't worry about me. And so, and at the same time, I thought I was going to be like signed by them. Like before that I was making mixtase. I was DJ and I had my own like demo that I was selling at school. Couldn't nobody tell me I wasn't going to be right out of high school like signed a Jay-Z, you know, and, and. It was like that big record scratch. Yeah. So there was still a part of me like, okay, I'm still going to try to do this, but my world's upside down and I had to move out and all this stuff. So right after I graduated high school somehow and I was like, I'm going to go to LA. I'm going to make the move, going to try to do my thing and I'm going to take some meetings. I had a manager at the time that was taking me around and my two older sisters were taking care of my little sister and I pretty much was off into the world after there. And I did a bunch of stuff. I went to Atlanta and, you know, was trying to get a record deal. Got every door closed on me and got a rude awakening that, you know, yeah, this is cool, but can you do more something like this? And we don't, we don't get it. Like you want to rap, you sing, what do you do? Yeah, what were you doing then? I was doing a lot of everything. I had a little demo that I was taking around and I was rapping. I was singing. I made all the beats. I was playing drums and back then it was, it was a lot of emulating. And so I was back in, in Oxnard and I was, my sister lived in Northridge and I was like, okay, well, let me try to live with you. And that's kind of LA. So she was like, you sleep on the couch if you want. But if you live here, you're going to have to help on these bills. And so I tried to do stuff and it wasn't happening. So then I had to get a job. And one of my first jobs was working at Ralph's grocery with my brother-in-law and I was bagging groceries and pushing in carts. And I was writing songs still. I was still writing. What was your look then? My look? Yeah. I was like, look, very regular, degular. You know what it was? I was very anti. After I got chewed and spit out, I was very anti hip hop, very anti. It's like, I'm going this way. I'm going complete hipster. I don't listen to that. I listen to Beck. I listen to Radiohead, Co-Play. I have specs, black frames, skinny jeans, button ups with the sweater. What'd you do with your hair? What were you doing with it by then? I was like, get that a little part length. No, man. So we're lining up net and very natural. Oh, natural. Oh, natural. Did you have an accident? Did you play around with that a little bit? You did. You listened to them old songs back then. I was like, boy, you were not from Wells. Like, where are you getting this from? Who was your crew? Who were the people that you were, or were you working too much to have friends? I had a crew. I shot up to Benji and Yulia was my crew from high school. And I had a few people that were still kicking it. Because Benji's still with you. Did you guys do some stuff together? Didn't one of your friends? No, it was a different one. Yeah. This before I actually met my crew that I am hanging with now because I eventually made my way to music school. But I had a few people that I knew from high school that were taking me and letting me live in their garage and different stuff. I was still kind of always doing music, but I was working jobs because I couldn't make money doing music. So how did you figure out, OK, this is going to be the lane I'm going to be in now? Style-wise. Wow, it took a lot, man. It took a lot of just making a lot of different music. I was playing for a lot of people. When I finally got to LA, I did a lot of like, you know, putting bands together for other artists and I would see how they do stuff. And everybody was like, you're a great drummer. So I played behind a lot of different people coming up. And some of them were really talented, some of them weren't. And I picked up a lot of different stuff from different people. And eventually I got to a point where I met this guy and he told me, he's like, you know, you're really talented, but you don't have any work ethic. And I think that because you're so multifaceted and talented, it's kind of working against you because look at all the things you're doing. And this is, you know, I was getting close to 30 at this point and I thought I was going to be young forever. And at this point, I had my son, Korean wife, and I was still like trying to play drums with this person, make a song over here, do this stuff. And he was like, if you just sat down in a room, sit your ass down and just work on you. Don't have, don't invite anybody, just work on you. And you could probably do something. You get a whiteboard, start figuring out how you want to go about it, what kind of artists you look up to. Maybe you can do something different, draw from there and simplify your life. And he brought up your great husband's quote where he said, you know, I only had a couple of suits and I simplify my life and I want to worry about what I'm going to wear every day so I can make better decisions. And so that's what I had to do. He did say that. The show did. He still does that. We need to get him that jacket. You're right. It's like you can unsympathize a little bit. He's a fly. He's a fly. I see him. I know you're a fly guy. Don't say that. Now his head is just going, Anderson packs his own fly. I'm going to hear that for the rest of the year. But it was those words. And I finally, he said, and if you do it, if you, I was like, how am I going to do it? I got to pay your rent. I got to figure out how I'm going to do it. He said, I'll pay your rent. How about that? If you just sit in his room and who was this? This was a mantra at the time. His name is Brian Lee. Okay. Yeah. He going to run with this one. Take this little clip. You're going to have a documentary next week. See her with Obama said Obama did not say that. Is that Brian Lee? Brian Lee. He sat me in that room. He said, I'll pay your rent. I'll get the little computer. I was like, but I need all this. He's like, no, you're going to get just this little computer, Magmini, get your little mini board. And you're going to figure out how to record yourself. You're going to, you're going to sit here. You're going to make a bunch of songs, figure out your sound and just do it. And it was in that room that I went from being breezy, lovejoy to Anderson pack. See, that's what I want you to say. You were breezy, lovejoy. Where's that coming? Where does that mean? Where'd you get that? Tell me. I got you. I got a little bit of that for you. He's not the one. It's like you two. See, I see she's bad because she knows that DJ college. Oh, you did? What's your DJ name? Craigie Craig. Just like breezy, lovejoy. Come on, Craig. Man, we would have been killing back in the day. Top like security world, Craig. Shoot. That's incredible. Yeah. The old head and the young. That's right. There's still time. There's still time. We can make it work. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was doing that. I was like, I'ma call you Breezy, you always Barton. Like a gust of wind when it hits you. That's what we gonna go with. So that was that. Before you got your diet together. That's right, exactly. That's sort of fast food diet. That's that. Mess you up. That Taco Bell was an agreeing. It was an agreeing. Yeah, so I had to switch it up. And yeah, Brian was like. What did Breezy Lovejoy look like? Breezy Lovejoy was chubby. No, you know, Breezy Lovejoy went through that transformation too. So he got like Dreadhawk. He was like, you know, after the transformation, I was working out a lot. So I was always in like a cut off tee, real rock image. And still rapping? I was still rapping. About what? I was doing all kinds of rapping. What was Breezy's life about? Now I was rapping about, you know, being in the streets of Venice. And you know, I was like. Were the streets of Venice hard? To me. To me. The streets of Venice. It ain't hard. I was going to that music college. So I have been exposed to a lot of different relationships. And I was like a crooner too. I was playing piano. So I was making songs about you're my girl's best friend. And I don't want to be alone no more with you. I was like one of the Breezy Lovejoy. They're breezy. Breezy. Oh my God. Talk about it. You're still happy go lucky, but he was really trying to find his his sound. And he didn't really have one sound or even one unique tone. And that's where Breezy was at. And I remember Brian was like, you got to change that name. That's the last thing we got to do. Now you done did everything. Now we got to change that name. And I was like, what you talking about? I got 200 followers on my space. His name stays. I don't work for that. He's like, Roy, his name stays. Jack. And that on Jack. And he said, you really going to meet Dr. Dre one day and tell him your name is Breezy Lovejoy? And I was like, you got a point. You got a point. He was like, you should go by your real name. Just go by Brandon Anderson. I was like, Brandon. Brandon. Are you kidding me? Well, Brandon is Brandon. I was like, OK. I love Brandon. Brandon's a mother's name. My mom loves it. Brandon, Pac Anderson. So that's my full name. And so we did a little jigsaw. And we went with Anderson, Anderson, Pat. And I was like, well, it's pronounced Pac. And he said, nah, say Pac, because they won't know if it's a group or a band. And people will argue if it's Pac or Pac. And it'll make you the talk of the town. So that was intentional? Yeah. Yeah. So where'd the period come from? The period came. I put the dot on there because, so at this point, I was damn near 30 years old. And I felt like I had been overlooked for so many years. I felt like I used to call myself the most underrated and elevated. Like when we play in the band and we used to, everybody would be making it. And I felt like we got ignored a lot. And I put the dot because I said, you know what? When I make it, I want to make people put that dot. They're going to have to pay attention. Because they didn't pay attention to me for so long. And now they got to remember to put that dot. So it's always a period. Oh, period. They say period. That's right. It was like my green M&Ms, you know, my thing. And I was like, y'all going to do it. I took the chance. I didn't work all this time to get here. And so it's a dot for detail. 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Can you hum a few bars? What did it sound like? What was the song? Can I say this song? Oh, yeah. Will that be a... It's his song. It was a song called Swayed. And the song simply goes, If I call you a bitch, it's because you're my bitch. And as long as no one else call you a bitch, then it won't be no problems. Now if I call you a trick, it's because you paid rent. And as long as you don't call at the six, then it won't be no problems. Now rock with me now. Yeah. There you go. Oh, you make, could you say that? Yes. No, you absolutely can't. So is that song that did it all for me? That did it. Yeah, well, it was, yeah, I recorded that song and it was moving around and people knew about it. And so when they said, Dre wanted to hit me up, I was Lil' Shook because that's like the final boss. I grew up in the West Coast and nothing's bigger than Dre. And so there was a little bit of Shook and also a little bit of like self-savage. I was like, I ain't going to that session. I don't need that. They gonna try to make me something I'm not. And who knows, he ain't putting out no album no time soon. I'm working on my stuff and this and that. And really you were afraid that you might fail. Looking back on it, yeah. Dre is known for, you don't care who you are, what hype. If you don't like it, you don't like it. And so they begged my new manager at the time. He was like, please go, man. Adrian Miller, shout out to Adrian Miller. Can I say Brian Lee, shout out to Adrian Miller. He was like, come on, man, show up, this is do it. And I show up and first person on me was Dr. Dre and him and the DLC and they was like, hey man, we heard a lot about you. You know, that's what's up. Cool. They was watching the playoffs and they ushered me into the studio and I met these two writers, King Mez and JT and they were like, we love your song, Suede. Like, we love it. We've been playing it nonstop and we want you to help on this Dr. Dre album. It's top secret. No one knows about it. Don't tell anyone bad, cool. So they played me some music. I'm like, great, let's start working. And they say, hold up, before we play this, we wanna play your song, Suede for Dre. And I was like, oh, no, he hasn't heard it yet. Like, come on, let's get some new, let's just go. We're gonna leave it. What if he doesn't like it? And we're gonna go like, damn. It's like, just leave it. Yeah, it's all good. That would be deflating. Oh my God. That would be deflating. Yeah, actually. You thought, that's why you were here because it's Suede, right? Little I know, Dre didn't have a clue. He thought I was a runner. He was like, who's here? Go ahead, man. Yeah. And they were like, we wanna play up with Dre. So I was nervous and he came in there and they threw on the record and I was like, and in a word of look, I was just looking at the floor. I was looking at his feet. That's where I realized like, oh, Dre wears the same shoes every day. Why are you force ones? All right. It's like check. You got check. Noted. Simplify your life, okay. Got it. So he played the music and man, he cranks it. You know, he cranks it up. They blasted it and I look up and he's like, I played that again. What's your name again? AP? And what should I call you? AP, we're gonna call you AP. Play it again. You didn't make a play. Focus on the period. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Excuse me. It's an A period B. That's Mr. Fack. No, none of that. Whatever it is you like, honestly. You like it, I love it. You just glad they didn't kick you out, right? Yeah, exactly. I was like, he's like, play it again. That's gangster. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's work. It's too much talent in the building. And he just threw on the mic. Oh, yeah. And I started doing stuff and boom, like I was back every day. Every day he hit me up to work on stuff and they told me it's top secret. Don't tell anybody about this. I told everybody. I told my cousin. Man, I was telling everybody. Man, I'm on, I'm with Drake. Don't talk to me. Don't like your tone, bro. I'm working with Drake, you know? I ain't got time for all that foolishness. Oh, no. Yeah, so I was like, I was hyped. That's when I was like, oh man, this is good. Because before that, man, it was tough. I was making low headway, but man, it was still struggling. I wasn't making any money really as an artist. And I was full-time artist. And so it was tough. And I had a family. When that moment came, I was like, wow. And then he put out an album. He put, I woke up and he had dropped in a surprise album called Compton and I was all over the album. I was like on six tracks. They was called me six track pack. And then he had a movie straight out of Compton and he did the beat still and Drake was popping. And so I was like, wow. And I was like, well, shoot, guess I should put out something now. And it was cool because he was so busy doing this thing that he didn't sign me right away. So I was working on an album called Malibu. And I had it halfway done, but now people are looking. So I was hitting up producers that this album was my dream album that I had been holding on to these songs for a while. And I was like, when this comes out, I want people to be able to hear it. And now I had a lot of leverage and people were had a lot of eyes on me. So I was hitting up people like Knifewonder and Malibu and Hi-Tech. And these people were helping me complete the album now. And I was getting these features. And Drake was still doing his thing. So I got to put it out independently. And now I own the master's. That was probably the best thing that happened. It was like, how fortuitous that he was too busy. Yeah. And I was trying to break her neck, trying to, everyone was knocking down my door now, trying to sign me before I couldn't buy a deal. And everyone was like, yeah, we want to sign you now. And I was like, if I do sign anything, I'm going to sign a tray whenever it comes back around. And I was on tour after that for years. I didn't see. How did you finance your tour? So it was a lot of things that happened. We started very after Malibu came out, it started circulating. And I got a Grammy nom for best new artists, different things like that. And people were seeing that, oh, he's not just a rapper. He could play. He has a band. So we started getting festival offers to play at festivals and stuff. And so the rates started getting better. And then we got on a show called NPR Tiny Desk. Oh, I love you on Tiny Desk. That was. And that really opened it up. People started seeing, wow. And I didn't know that playing drums and being the frontman was going to be a big thing. And it was really that that opened everyone's eyes. And man, then we started getting booked for all kinds of gigs. And then our shows were starting to get lying around the corner. So how did you know how to line up your team? So that financially you would, because they're the story of a lot of artists. Well, I went before that, I was going to be with anybody who could help pay my rent. I would sign anything. And I got out of the manager who made me change my name, he was like, hey, I don't know what to do now. You're off. But if you ever do make it, you owe me this much. So I learned a little bit like, oh, nothing to this stuff is free. These are all partnerships. So he was like, you will make it. That's free rent. Exactly. It's like, I pay you a rent. You know, you're not paying my rent. Exactly. This is an investment. I want to ROI eventually. I don't know what to do with you now, but you're going to figure out. And so he gave me a big overseas on how much I owed. And then I had a bunch of music, but I just was in debt and no connections. And so I met another manager and he said, hello, young fella. Just look at me. I remember the first thing he said. He was like, just look at me as your personal ATM. And I said, bet. I got this debt. I got my rent. I got a wife. I got a kid. I want to do all this stuff. And he said, great, we're going to get you a deal. I'll help you with all that stuff. Just we're going to sign a management agreement, though. And I signed him, a new manager, and he put together a financial team and lawyer, everything. Some of the people I still have to this day, he wasn't perfect, but he was a bridge over Trevor Water. He was a guy that gave him an opportunity. I didn't have an opportunity. And he was one of the people that got me in front of Dre. And he didn't have all the knowledge of it, but he did teach me certain simple stuff, like don't sign your publishing no matter what. And very first thing people want to do is sign their publishing because they don't have a lot of finances and they need a big check up front. So they sign these publishing deals and that's your everything. That's your kids' kids' stuff. And you get locked in for years. So I didn't know what he was talking about. Up until then, man, people were trying to get my publishing $5,000 a year. And now I'm like, let's sign it. Like, really, I'm broke. Like, that's $5,000. We ain't walking away from that. That's generational wealth. And he's like, bro, don't sign that. I'll give you $500 to get you to the next. Here's some grocery money. Yeah, here. I'm like, all right. Calm now. I was just hungry. But yeah, he would do something like that. And to this day, I'm holding on to that. And so yeah, he was the person that got my initial team together. And then I started making money and didn't know where it was going. There never was a type to have a bank account before that. I was in collections. Like, I never had a. That's all you know about the bank. That's all you know about banks. I get a card. I max it out. And I'll be like, all right, on to the next. And I had school debt, all kinds of stuff. My credit was Ritbizmo. And yeah, it was like, I did when I started making money, it was just like, I just, you know, here, I had a team that he put in place. But I never was checking to see where it was going and all the stuff. They were just, you know, putting it in places. And thank God, you know, they were the my first initial team did do really cool stuff that to this day, I'm really happy about, you know, the. I mean, you were lucky. Very lucky. Yeah. Nobody's stories. It's like that. It's like the story. I'm waiting for this. I didn't know nothing. And I gave everything to them. Well, that's true. And I still have it. That's like. No, no, no, I lost a lot. OK. I had to go through the growing pains, had to fire everybody. It was a whole bunch of stuff. But, you know, people, artists, I see a lot of these things where it's like, they took me for this and that and all the stuff. But you only, you only do what you allow people to do. And there's no reason why I couldn't pick up one of these contracts and looked it through and figured it out and maybe waited and stuff. But it's not, it's not that I didn't know better. It's just like I was just trusting and doing what I can. And these people were helping me out of time and I didn't have anything. And so I needed the help and they saw something in me when no one saw it. And I think, you know, you take the good with the bad. Right, right, right. Right. Man, dude. Then I met Bruno. Oh, yeah. I learned a lot about debt. Oh. Talk about that. How'd you meet Bruno? How did you guys come together? We met, I opened up for him at the 24 Carat Magic. It was one of my first big, like, opening tour offers when Malibu had came out. And he took me all over Europe, big arena shows. And your first big arena shows. Yeah. Yeah. What was that? What was that like? It was incredible. Breezy Lovejoy. Look at where we are now. Look at where we are. We done made it. Yeah, it was crazy. I remember, you know, like after one of the shows, because our whole thing was like, yeah, we got to make it so that, you know, he messed up having us open. We about to steal some fans. We're killing it. Now that was our whole mentality. And Bruno has that mentality too. Like we come from like, you don't want to come on the stage after we go, you know, like that's where we want to kill the stage and give people the best show possible. We don't care who's coming after. And that's how we went. I remember one day we played and like we had a standing ovation. I was like, yeah, we killed that. The next day they say, Bruno wants to talk to you. And I said, oh, shit. I said, whoop. You know, see you later. He's like, meet me for dinner tonight. I want to talk. And I'm like, oh, damn, I'm talking to my band. I'm like, shit, we didn't kill it too hard. Bruno wants to meet. This might be it. Yeah, yeah. Here we go. And we go to this restaurant. It's like at the top floor. He and their smoking a cigarette inside the restaurant. And that's how I knew I was like, oh, there's different type levels of famous. It's like, are you not? I don't think you're going to smoke here. It's not. Yeah, yeah. I think I'm going to go to Marx. Bruno's non-smoking. Yeah. Excuse me, sir. Do you see the sign? No, you put that down. Yeah, yeah. And so he's like, I like you. You did great. You know, that was real cute. He said, sit. Sit, listen, I want you to come on the rest of the tour with me. You know, I'm going to do, we got San Antonio. We got, we got New York on, come on the American leg. And then, you know, my crazy self. I'm like, well, okay, but I need a little more money, you know, because I got the ban. And this and that. He's like, you know, the tour sold out. And I said, okay. So that means I don't need you to do this. So you take it or leave it, buddy. I'm doing it because I like it. It's not because I need you. I'm right. I said, damn. Oh, you got a point. You got a point there. You got to learn business quick. Yeah. It's all right. I'll be back. I'll figure it out. And that was a big decision because, you know, at that point I had Malibu and then Dre was like, hey man, when you're going to come back, make your next album. And I was like, oh, wow, that's right. I need to make another album. It's been years. You know, and I had been on the road nonstop. And I, and if I would have kept going with him, I would have, I mean, he's just coming off that 24 carat. And I just, so it's like, it's easy to, to, you know, get caught up in that where. You can be on the road for a long time and you forget or doing different things because it's like, it's fun or because it's like lucrative and stuff. And then you forget like, OK, well, I still got stuff over here. Also had a family. I also had different things going on. So I had to make a decision. It was a tough one to be like, OK, this I'm going to leave it to or going to work on my album, work on my stuff, go back, be with the family and, and, you know, tap in on my own artistry. As fun as it is to open up. I don't want, I didn't want to get stuck in being an opener, being like some sidekick or something. So what was Bruno's reaction to that? Good luck. It's like, still sold out. Still sold out. Yeah. And nobody come to see you in the first place. And so we kept in touch and we made some music and it was just like right away we hit it off. I hadn't met anybody that was that talented. It was my age and that could make hits and was a mega star. You know, like it was, it was. I worked with a lot of people that were older or maybe younger and I was always like felt like the lone ranger that was still like the guy that really wanted to play and perform and listen to old school stuff. And he was that even and even more. I love cooking in the summer. 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Again, that's 15% off at www.bioptimizers.com slash IMO when you use my code IMO. Make this the year you finally get your sleep, your energy and yourself back. And so I went off, did my stuff and eventually quarantine hit so everything came to a halt. And everyone was stuck no more tours and the blessing of it was I had to be home with the kids. And so my kids now are eight years old and I had a little baby. And you've been on the road since they were born? Yeah, before that, that was my life. You know, bread and butter was put some out, go on the road for months and you come home and life still goes on without you. And you daddy's home, the kids run up to you and then they come out and they're like, long time no see. Nobody's saving you no chicken and they don't get the big piece of chicken no more. And everyone's like on the iPad. And like, you know, so it became apparent like, if I wasn't going to have a lot of time, it was very important about what you do with the time and being present. And I know daddy's working and all these things cost and I do all stuff. But while I'm here, I want to be present. And I was really what Quarancy did for me. I got to be present, create a bond with my son, figure out what he was into. He's like, I like YouTube. I want to be a YouTuber. I'm like, OK, what's that? I'm like, K-pop. I'm like, K-pop. What's that? What you know about Tupac? Boy, BTS. What you know about BTS? How long I've been away from what the hell is happening in this house now? I've got to rectify some things. Yeah. So then I had to tap in and I see you like to do YouTube. So I'm like, oh, let's make some skits. Like, I remember it brought me back when I was a kid making like funny skits with my sisters and I used to love like editing and filming and making home videos. And it brought me back to doing that. And so I became one. I wanted to be a YouTuber more than him by the end of it. Really? Come on, son, let's do this. And I realized how funny he was. And he had been in dance classes forever. So he was like a little dance machine. And I'm like, wow, this is this is 2.0. Faster, more handsome. Does he have the same kind of energy as you do? Even cooler energy. What's that in like in the house with you two? He's, you know, he's a sage and I'm a queries. So I don't know. Y'all can do the research on that. Julia knows it. We are always talking about this. So it's a lot of just us staring at each other like, all right. Go ahead with your bad cell. I'll see you over there. You know, I used to do a little. So he's really much like, I got, I see you doing that. I'm going to have my own thing. And so I kind of like you. Yeah. Yeah. Very much so. And his mom. And, you know, and he's got the Korean side too. His mom is full Korean and he's got a different. Is she musical? She's musical. Sing, plays keys and everything. All right. So the K-Pops is fully your story. Yeah. Not fully, but you know, I was pulling from the whale. Yeah. Yeah. That was why I was like, son, I'm going to write a script. Like this is this could be something. What if I didn't know how to say that in COVID? Yeah. Yeah. I was, I was talking about K-Pops. Yeah. The movie, the movie. Yeah. My feature film. And I knew I wanted to, because at that point I saw that, OK, touring stop, I love music. It's always going to be there. But that's what I realized. Like, oh man, you know, different, I could tell different stories and different, and different mediums. And it might take a while for me to learn a new medium, but that's the joy of the whole process. You know, I love that. So this was your first script? Yeah. Yep. So you taught yourself how to do it? Yeah. So I had a co-writer. OK. I had to come up with the idea first and, you know, what if I didn't know how to sign? And that son could be the next K-Pops star. And I come into his life and I'm teaching him about his black culture and he's teaching me about the Korean side. Because I didn't know anything about my Korean side until I met his mom and then I was reintroduced. So I had all these unique experiences that I could pull from and put them in this movie that I didn't think anybody had really done before. Like, especially Asians and black people, like, that was rare. Like, we got rush hour, you know, and that's about it. So I was like, this could be cool. And then I didn't want it to be. I know I had a lot of different things that could pull from and trauma and different things, racism, things that we all been through. But I wanted to kind of pull from the things that helped me cope with all those things, like the love, the music, the fun, the comedy. And I felt like there wasn't a lot of movies that were bringing families together where you saw families on the screen. It was family comedy. No one dies. You know, it's like different things. My kind of movie. Right. Very uplifting. Yes, by the way. I mean, yeah. And my mom, too, she's like, brandy, you know what, this is like a Hallmark movie. I was like, mom. Oh, don't say that. You mean Sundance? No, this is Hallmark. This is ready for Hallmark. I was like, all right. But I understood what she was saying. It's like, you know, sometimes you want the escapism of knowing that everything's going to be all right. And, you know, that doesn't mean you can't put different things in there. But it's beautiful when you can. It's really hard to do those kind of movies. So, yeah, that was the genesis of it. And I started doing the process and I met with my my buddy, Dunn, founded because once I knew I wanted to direct everything, people didn't want to want me to do it. And I wanted to be in it and I wanted my son to be in. And they were like, OK, that's a lot. It's very ambitious. Like, why don't we give it to somebody? Give it to this. I don't want nobody around my son. Don't you know who I am? Come on now. Formerly Breezy Lovejoy. Really? Ring a bell. I do hard. Exactly. Yeah. So I eventually got my boy Dunn founded, who was one of my best friends that I met coming up in LA who started music but was making the venture into movies, was working with this company, Stampede and EST. And he said, bring it to them. They're taking chances on, you know, different stories. And I pitched them the idea and they said, yeah, cool. We'll give you some money to do it. And I was shocked. I was like, whoa, all right, cool. So then they were like, you want to you want to direct it, right? I was like, yeah, and you want to write it. And I didn't know how to write a script. We had none. So I was like, maybe I need to I would love to have a co-writer, actually, because I need just to show me structure or whatever. And they blessed me with this really young co-writer, Kale Amazon, this young black writer who was military brat and who also happened to be a K-pop fanatic. So she was like, right when got in there and was in here just like this. And I'm like, so she's like, all right, this is K-pop one on one. This is movie structure one on one. She graduated from film school and everything. And I think it worked out because it was those two worlds and she taught me structure and she taught me the idea that I had gained all these layers because it wasn't it wasn't as deep as him being on a show and all these different things. And I learned more about the structure of K-pop and how they have this, you know, this incubation system and this whole thing about this person and this person and that and all this thing. And again, it was making me think of groups that I came up with. And so I was like, this is going to be cool opportunity to show like how things relate and how much in common things happen, how yes, people take and pull from different things and have their own interpretation. But that's been going on for years. My favorite scene in the movie is when you're out with, I shouldn't say, when Pops is out with his son and they go by the record store. Yeah. And he starts pulling out the album. It's explaining this is what, you know, trying to teach his son some soul and understand what it means. That was beautifully done. Thank you. You know, and was that the first time you acted? Yeah, I mean, I've done different things, but this is the first. I mean, you're really good in it. I mean, funny and, you know, lit up the screen really, truly. You know, I mean, I was laughing out loud watching the movie really sweet and your son. I mean, so now your son is you said is man. Yeah, I mean, it took forever. He was like eight years old. He was obsessed with K-pop. And then by the time we got to shoot, I got all the money and stuff. He was like 11 years old and he's like, man, I don't like K-pop no more. I'm like, I'm like, contractually, son, here's that thing. I need this to work. We're doing this. I owe a lot of money. So he was like, all right, I guess, you know, he's going into his teens. And I had to adjust things for him, but he was like, I'm going to do your solid dad's, you seem really into it. And I'm like, thank you, son, let's do this. Thank you. This is about your tuition and your life. This is going to mean more than you know later. And so, yeah, and it was cool because like the whole thing was like, I really loved being on set with him and being able to kick it with your son and like see him grow and we're working together and we're creating a bond. But we also have been on set really early and I'm seeing him learn about how to be learn the language of being on set, being on his mark and he's taking his acting class is serious and learning his lines and getting me on my game. And it was just so much fun. And, you know, at the end of it, I was like, it was really surprising because like I didn't know how he was going to take it. And I could see him having a lot of fun. Mind you, before this, he was in homeschool all his life. And now he's like around other kids and adults and I've seen him blossom socially and everything. And I'm like, OK, we might have a little acting bug. K-POPs, too. And I'm like, what do you think, son? Would you do it again? How'd you feel? He's like, it was great. I think we had a lot of core memories. I think you had a lot of fun. But I would just like to be a kid. It's not my passion. And yeah, that's pretty much. We'll leave it there. That's pretty much. Yeah, he's like, but it does depend on the script. That's so. And that's cool. I was fine with that. And now he's going to school. Now he's like, it's funny when you like back off off him, they get to do their thing their own way. And now he's playing guitar, he's playing bass, making beats. And I'm right back in his face like, all right. Yeah, you're wrong now. It's got to be the next album. It's got to be their idea. It does. You know, how's your mom doing? My mom is doing great. Yeah, is narrowed it down to one boyfriend now. OK. She got she's vegan. OK. Kissing off every restaurant we go to. She is a Dodger fanatic. Oh, my God. She got me into the Dodgers. So now we'll be all obsessed with the Dodgers. Congratulations. She's an F1. Exactly. Shout out to Dodgers. She's F1. She's F1 too. He's an F1 fanatic. Oh, my God. All of it. So I'm broke. Having to get all these passes and tickets. She got to be front row at everything. Did she go to the Vegas? She went to the Vegas race. She went to the last fight. She got to feel the sweat coming off of them. I'm like, dang. Yeah. So she's loving life. And, you know, she's she's out in Atlanta and, you know, sometimes she'll tap in, be a grandma, watch kids and she'd be dipping out. She's jet-set now. I'm like, mom, because mom for some reason, she's like, I don't want to go anywhere, Brandon, I just I don't trust it. The things that people eat. I don't. I'm like, mom, why is that stopping you from going anywhere? Really? Go trouble. No, they doing some foolishness over there with how they do the chicken. You see that? You seen that? I trusted I'm scared of that. But now she's traveling. She's going to she was in Puerto Rico. She's back in her own food. Yeah, yeah. That's one way to piss her clean off. To hell with the whole country. Yeah. So she's going to food and she's going to travel London now finally going to get her to go over across the pond. And yeah, she's doing she's great. That's my that's my dad. That's my best friend. And well, she did a great job in raising you, dude. She really has and been through a lot and stayed strong. Yeah. You know, and I like to think that that's also, you know, where you get your steadiness and your your drive. And like you said, your mom, you know, has taught you a lot of it. And you can see it. It's spilling out on this table. Thank you. Shout out to mama. Yeah. Shout out to my forget Brian Lee. Yeah, mama. Mama. Shout out from the Obamas and the Robinson, that one. Yeah. Yeah. We see you. We see you mama. Benda. Yeah. Um, you want to do the listener question? Yeah, let's let's hear from Amanda in Boston. Hi, my name is Amanda and I'm from Massachusetts. My husband and I have started to discuss growing our family. As a teacher and future parent, I often grapple with the idea of building resilience in young people. I had a fairly unstable childhood. My father battled alcoholism and actively worked on his recovery while my mother worked long hours trying to make ends meet. Because of this environment, I was forced to develop resilience and grit. I had to learn to guide myself and power through uncomfortable feelings without the guidance of my parents. I find myself being able to handle adversity in adulthood because of this learning resilience. I truly believe that I have my childhood and struggles to think for this. As I think about raising independent and resilient future adults, I worry that I won't be able to provide my children with opportunities to naturally build this resilience. How do we balance this idea of giving children a predictable and loving home while also allowing them to naturally build resilience? I want to give my future children everything I did not have, but this can become a slippery slope. Thank you so much for your time. OK, Amanda asked, it's getting the answer from Mr. Resilience himself. Really? Yeah, you got. Can't be afraid to let them go through their own struggles. You know, sometimes like, you know, especially my kid, he remember my oldest one. He remembers like the little apartment, you know, and me going for us taking the bus. And then when we first got our place and first got a car and he still remembers I'm a little one. He was born in first class. Yeah, he's like he's born after we had the stuff. So, you know, sometimes I take him through coach and some go ahead. Like, you're going to sit back there. I'm sitting up front. Y'all figure it out. You know, work your way up like how take him down, scare road, let him see like this could be you now. Not the car. Go up. You want to be tough, right? Go ahead. That's what's going to get you. Get your ass in the car. Let's get out of here. That's some old school lessons. You got to do it. Now I wanted to protect them somebody. I want to give them the life I didn't have all this stuff. And I realized like all this stuff that I went through made me me. And it wasn't like it wasn't. I don't know how it would have been if, if, you know, the tables were turning. I got to live in that lap of luxury and my mom and everything worked out. It might have been still a chubby little spoiled brat. You know, and I know how to treat people and all this stuff. That's right. And so, you know, the kids have to go through their own trauma, their own set of different things in order to. And you have to trust that the things that you install, install to them is going to stay with them when they go out into the world. So now my son is going to school now. He's made his debut and he was home school forever. I didn't want to put him in school. Trust nobody. I was like, nah, we're going to keep him here. And, you know, he was like, please, dad, I want to go to school. So I want to get out of my cousin. You don't like, you know, who's going to watch your little brother? And the. So it's like not my job. Yeah, it's not my job. So now he's out and, you know, I trust that, you know, I worry sometimes, but I trust that the things that he learned in the house and the way we raise him, he's out there being a good representation and he's going to learn, you know, on his own and you have to be, you have to let him do that. And, and, you know, he's around other people and getting influenced and learning different things and I'm excited for him. But I think that that's what you have to do. You have to trust that you raise them right and that you installed a lot of those things, but can't be afraid to let them go out and venture and bump their head sometimes and get back up and it's a part of it. Yeah, that's a good point. You know, I think that sometimes parents, they have to get out of the way. Yeah. You know, and I would say, man, to make sure that you aren't parenting out of fear or out of your own motives, right? Our mom was really good at that. She always used to say, I can't let my own fears get in the way of your growth. And when and the perfect example was when I got the chance to go out of town for the first time to a tournament basketball, a basketball term. My mom was scared to death and I was going to Kansas City in a van with a bunch of guys and some coaches and I didn't realize it until I was. She never told me this until I was grown, but she was. Absolutely afraid the whole time I was gone. And she just ate that fear and let me experience it. And I tell you, it's just like what you're saying, it's it's it's not doing the homework, not getting in the way of your child's development because of your own personal fears too. So you see it in coaching. Oh, man, I see it so much now in coaching kids that these parents are trying to curate the perfect childhood for them. And that's not sports. It's not going to be perfect. You're not going to go undefeated. You're not going to ever not miss a shot. You're not going to ever run into a kid who's better than you are. And you're going to lose a lot. You are going to lose. You are going to at some point in life, somebody is going to be mean to you. That you're going to, you know, you're going to be disappointed. Something's not going to work out that. We've all experienced that. Yes. So we got to prepare kids for that. That's what resilience is, you know, and you don't have to be flat broke to do it. You know, you don't have to have extenuating circumstances to do it, but you do have to let go throughout their childhood. And Amanda, your kids will still love you. That's the thing. They'll still love you. That is the crazy thing about it. You know. And, you know, for a minute, you have to not care whether they like you or not. I mean, that's kind of that's kind of the secret to parenting. You know, you got to be able to be like, I don't really care. Yeah, if you like me, that's not my role in your life. You know, my favorite saying that my daughter say I say I say this all the time. I'm not one of your little friends. That was what my mom used to say to just not. And I never felt like I needed to be. Oh, you mad? Oh, you got rent? Mm hmm. Exactly. Oh, so who gonna be mad or longer? Who's not? Oh, you're not speaking to me. Right. It's like, great. I won't speak to you. Right. And guess who always wants? It's like, you gonna need to speak to me before I could not speak to you for years. Wow. And my life wouldn't change. She's rough, man. She's rough. She's rough. I'm going to handle. She stays high except with her kids. It's like, oh, we're going below. Crazy. Okay. All right. Let me show you love. Yeah, you know. Wow. I like it. And that would build resilience. Absolutely. Yeah. Don't hurt me mad. Therein lies a little resilience there. Mm hmm. They're never coming on. They're never coming on. I am not yet? Oh, listen. Wow. None of our kids want to come. I actually, that's what I'm telling you. Aaron wants to come. He's the youngest. But this is what you're saying. Your son now, he's like, please. No interest. Yeah. No. No. I don't know. It may change, but you know, especially when your parents are, you know, he's going to try to create as much distance between you and him. Yeah. What's the opposite of the drums? I'm serious, man. Well, he's, yeah, he's doing guitar. And I can't play it. I'm not on lick. I just be like, uh-huh. No, no, I play this though. You know, that's what I'm doing. He's just killing it. So, yeah. Yeah. Oh. Well, hopefully that helps. Amanda. Yeah. You know, figure stuff out. Anything on the music front coming, coming our way? Yeah. I got some, I have a soundtrack that's going to accompany the movie where I'm doing some cool K-pop collabs and also like R&B and reaching back to different groups that I came up with like Irvin and Fire and different, different stuff. I can't wait for that. You excited about the soundtrack? Like Anderson Paak plays real music. Right. Breaking news. Bringing real music back. Please keep doing it. Thank you. Y'all keep doing what y'all did. Yeah. And tell us about Andes. Yes. Actually, can I bring in a, can I give you a gift? Yes. I got you a gift. Please. Speaking of real music, it's become harder and harder to find places where you can perform real music, where you see people playing instruments. Yeah. Right. Here people, people, you know, having a good time and seeing people dance and I'm trying to bring that back and that's how I came up in LA and that was a big part of how we made it and got our buzz. And I think it's important to have a place where bands can cut their teeth and practice and it can be like an incubation place where that happens. And so I started a club called Andes. Well, we got. Yes. This is a little so. Thank you. I got a little love to you. I got the supper club because I got food there. I got an excellent menu. We coming. I'm coming. Live music every night. Oh, Andy's sound. And I got y'all some Andy Schwag. Let's check it out. It's a breath mint. That's my, now this is my other venture. Wham. Now I know y'all do a lot of talking. Okay. Y'all be up here. And so. Andy's breath mint. I started my own mint with my doctor. He's Harvard graduate. You know what? You look like you need, you could have a mint. You look minty fresh. Fresh. Minty fresh. I mean, everything about him smells good. And fresh. And this is meant to be shared. Now y'all could be because confidence is meant to be shared. All right. Appreciate you. Well, thank you. Thank you for the gifts. Thank you for bringing real music back into our lives. Congratulations on the film. Everybody's got to see it. Congratulations on everything. I really appreciate it. Congratulations for being here. A couple of big fans here, man. Yeah. Likewise. Even bigger after this. Yeah.