RATING: 7.5/10
Must Listens:
Anderson .Paak’s fourth full-length studio release, Ventura, is a perfect show of artist evolution while reminding us why we love him. Though his previous album Oxnard was not received as well among fans, I personally really enjoyed it – a great blend of his talent in Hip-Hop/R&B, Soul and Funk. This time round, Anderson .Paak hones in on his soulfulness, giving us a funk-infused 11 track project. To me, the first song of an album has to be good for me to really engage with the rest of the album, and Come Home does exactly that with the help of one of the greats, Andre 3000.
Though I wasn’t a huge fan of Make It Better initially, it fit nicely within the album and upon first listen, already gives us something to sing along to. Which really describes the album as a whole, it’s a blend of familiarity as he takes us back to a more singing based project yet the production help of Dr. Dre gives us a feeling of freshness. Another aspect I really enjoyed was the run time. 11 tracks, falling short of just 40 minutes – it leaves us wanting more and forces us to rewind and take it all in again. The end track, What Can We Do? featuring Nate Dogg, plays a huge role in my feeling of this, being one of my favourite tracks on the project.
Though this is also where this album didn’t receive a higher mark for me. I really wanted to give it a 8 or even an 9 but it left me wanting more, and I’m happy to wait. Anderson .Paak is an artist that is most definitely here to stay and will continue to grow in his music and his popularity. Oxnard made a lot of people question .Paak’s direction as an artist and I feel like this is his response to that, showing that he can genre blend with ease. I’m expecting much bigger things from his next album, as I think it’ll be the perfect timing and he will have that experience under his belt of dealing with the criticism of Oxnard while keeping his confidence off the back of Ventura.
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Frank Tremain 